Dr. Marilyn Kourilsky, in her capacity as Vice President with the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, is responsible for Entrepreneurship Education in grades K-12 and at the community college level. Entrepreneurship education initiatives which carry her design and development imprimatur include Entrepreneur Invention Society, MADE-IT (Mothers and Daughters Entrepreneurs - In Teams), Making a Job, and EntrePrep. Under her leadership, these and other innovative K-14 entrepreneurship education thrusts have achieved significant visibility and implementation presence across the nation -- both within and outside of the school classroom.

As an expert in both entrepreneurship and education, Dr. Kourilsky has pursued internationally acclaimed research in entrepreneurship education, youth entrepreneurship, economics education, and learning theory. Her research reflects the clinical influence of her broad spectrum teaching experience at both the elementary and the high school levels. She has created extensively implemented educational reforms including the widely acclaimed Mini-Society® and the Kinder-Economy(TM); these programs have been actively featured in various media including the Today Show, The New York Times, and on the front page of The Wall Street Journal.

In her role as Professor of Education and Director of Teacher Education at the University of California, she established a nationally recognized and highly innovative teacher education program (CARE). Dr. Kourilsky's extensive publishing record spans numerous articles in refereed journals and 16 books including Economics and Making Decisions, Effective Learning: Principles and Practices, Making a Job: A Guide to Entrepreneurship, and Seeds of Success: Entrepreneurship and Youth.

Dr. Kourilsky has been the recipient of numerous honors including the two top UCLA awards for Outstanding Applied Research and for Outstanding Professorial Teaching, the EUCLAN Award for Innovation in Teacher Education, The National Freedom Foundation Award for Excellence, the John C. Schramm National Leadership Award, and the Henry H. Villard National Research Award.

She has served as president and executive director of the California Council on Economic Education and president of the Society of Economic Educators.

Dr. Kourilsky continues her long-term personal entrepreneurial pursuits in commercial real estate and enjoys weight lifting and cooking as hobbies.