Gerald Chertavian

Gerald Chertavian is dedicated to closing the Opportunity Divide that exists in our nation. Determined to make this vision a reality, Gerald combined his entrepreneurial skills and his passion for working with young adults to found Year Up, now known as Year Up United, in 2000. During his tenure as CEO, Year Up United served more than 45,000 young adults, scaled to 30 cities, and managed an annual operating budget of $180M. Independently conducted randomized controlled trials concluded that Year Up United raised wages for low-income young adults more than any youth workforce program in US history. Year Up United was recognized consistently as one of the nation's top 50 non-profits to work for by the Non-Profit Times, and Gerald was named one of the Top CEOs in the U.S. SMB Category on Glassdoor. In 2023, Gerald stepped down from Year Up United as CEO and began teaching Social Entrepreneurship and Systems Change at Harvard Business School.

Gerald has been committed to working with under-served young adults for more than three decades. He has actively participated in the Big Brother mentoring program since 1985 and was recognized as one of New York’s outstanding Big Brothers. In 2008, he was appointed by then-Governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick to serve on the Massachusetts State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. In 2013, he was appointed by Governor Patrick to serve as Chairman of the Roxbury Community College Board of Trustees and reappointed to that role by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker in 2016. 

Gerald began his career on Wall Street as an officer of the Chemical Banking Corporation. Following graduate school, he co-founded Conduit Communications and fostered its growth to more than $20M in annual revenue. From 1993 to 1998, Conduit ranked as one of the United Kingdom’s fastest growing companies. Following the sale of Conduit to i-Cube in 1999, Gerald turned his full attention to creating opportunities for others. 

Gerald earned a B.A. in Economics, Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, from Bowdoin College and in 2017 he was awarded the Bowdoin Common Good Award. He received his M.B.A., with honors, from Harvard Business School and in 2014 received the Distinguished Alumni Award. Gerald is also an Emeritus Trustee of Bowdoin College and the Boston Foundation. His 2012 book, A Year Up, is a New York Times bestseller.