Young Entrepreneurs Program
Creating the entrepreneurs of tomorrow
YEP! is an entirely free entrepreneurship education program for high school students, led by university students.
Our mission is to develop the next generation of entrepreneurs while uniting universities with their surrounding communities.
What Our Students Say…
Student from YEP! @ Brown’s 2020 Cohort
“Before YEP! I was viewed as ‘the quiet person’, but that's not who I really am. YEP! made me realize that I had an overwhelming sense of ambition and that I could only achieve what I wanted by being myself. Now I feel comfortable showing who I really am.”
Student from YEP! @ Brown’s 2021 Cohort
"Before YEP!, I always knew I wanted to create my own business. But, I didn't have the tools or skills to. I also was only thinking about knick-knack products rather than creating products that produce social change. Now I know that I can create a business that promotes change."
Student from YEP! @ Brown’s 2020 Cohort
“YEP! opened the doors for so many of us who wouldn’t expect to step through Brown in their lifetime. It made me realize Brown is a place for me too.”
Our Chapters
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Brown University
Our first chapter! Established in 2019
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Yale University
Established in 2021
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UCLA
Established in 2022
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UC Berkeley
Established in 2022
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UNSW
Established in 2023
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New York City
Established in 2023. Led by Columbia University students.
Meet the team
Audrey Shapiro
Founder & National Director
Audrey co-founded YEP! in 2019 when she was a sophomore at Brown as an effort to bolster entrepreneurship in Providence and further unite the local community with Brown. After graduation Audrey has led YEP!’s expansion, opening chapters at Yale, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UNSW in Sydney, Australia. She also led the development of Young YEP! @ Yale, YEP!’s first-ever middle school program. To date, YEP! has worked with over 460 high school and middle school students. Audrey is passionate about empowering young people with the tools they need to make the change they want to see in their communities.
Audrey graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Brown University with an honors degree in policy. She won the 2021 Watson Center Service to the Community Award for her work at YEP!.
Lana Nguyen
Program Director @ Brown University
Lana, an undergraduate student at Brown University, has been an integral part of YEP since 2021. From her early role as a Student Mentor to becoming the Program Director, Lana's journey is marked by innovation and dedication. She has guided YEP @ Brown towards tripling its team size and achieving near 100% leadership return rate. Her strategic restructuring of the curriculum and efforts to implement new programs such as funded student transportation showcase her commitment to enhancing accessibility. Lana's organizational expertise extends globally, where she leverages her systematic and sustainable approach to guide new chapters worldwide.
Outside YEP, Lana co-founded SupplyHopeInfo, a non-profit that raised over $60,000, providing academic supplies to 4,000 low-income students. Her work has earned recognition from notable figures, including California First Lady Jennifer Newsom and San Francisco Mayor London Breed. Lana's passion for innovation has garnered her multiple awards and grants, a testament to her remarkable persistence to driving influential change.
PRESS RELEASE
Support YEP!
In order to provide free entrepreneurship education to our students, we need your support! Help us in creating the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.