Inspiring Youth through the Center for Teaching Entrepreneurship

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For over 30 years, the Center for Teaching Entrepreneurship (CTE) has empowered thousands of disadvantaged young people to take ownership of their actions and futures. The students learn to promote and advertise themselves as business people, even play the role of a CEO. They also learn to integrate life roles with entrepreneurial skills. The curriculum includes simulations and field trips to boost their confidence.

Sixty-five-year-old Douglas Kelley has been the president of the CTE Board since 2008. He was raised in the Black neighborhoods of zip code 53206. He went to public schools and graduated from Rufus King High School in 1974. His father was a mechanic foreman, and his mother was a nurse and an entrepreneur who sold Avon products. She inspired young Douglas to adopt the entrepreneurial spirit for his own life’s journey. 

Kelley asked me to meet him at the WNOV radio station where he is vice president of sales. When I entered the building on 20th and Capitol, I found him doubling as a temporary receptionist. I pulled up a chair, we sat and talked, and I hoped the phone wouldn’t ring. Kelley is a powerful presence and seemed proud to talk about his career and the Center for Teaching Entrepreneurship.  

Take me through your career path and how you ended up as VP of sales at WNOV—and I believe, you are also involved in real estate. 

I was 16 when I graduated from high school. I worked at a bank for a while, then I attended Marquette University and graduated in 1979. My field was business administration. My first job was at ACDelco as a supervisor. Then, I spent a short time in Chicago with a construction company. I moved back to Milwaukee and worked for RJ Reynolds Tobacco in sales, and then for a pharmaceutical company for several years. Next, I worked at a paging company, and then at a job for Nextel Cellular. In 2003, I got involved in real estate after I got my real estate license. I’m still active in real estate. 

How did you end up in your present job, VP of Sales for WNOV radio?  

In 2013, I was concentrating on my real estate job, and the owner of WNOV called me. He knew I had once worked at 1290 radio. I took the sales manager job, and I’ve been here nine years. 

You are the board president of the Center for Teaching Entrepreneurship. What is the CTE and how does it work? I understand you have a working concept called “The CEO of ME.”

Our goal is to teach students, ages 9 to 24, on how to become “the CEO of me.” In other words, to understand the business mindset of a businessperson. This includes financial literacy, entrepreneurial practices, and how to run a business. Our theory is even if you work for someone else, you are still the ‘CEO of me.’

How often do you hold classes at CTE and where are they taught?

We used to hold weekly and monthly classes at our offices. Later on, after we received a large financial grant, we moved our classes into four high schools, North Division and Washington High and also two schools on the south side. When our founder ReDonna Rodgers became terminally ill in early 2017, we hit a pause state. We were down to four board members. The others who left thought CTE was going to die. But I made a promise to ReDonna that I would bring back CTE and make it work. We were making good progress when COVID closed everything down. But currently, we are back in stride again. We teach our programs at Story Elementary, Milwaukee Academy of Science, NOVA High School, and Holy Redeemer. Soon, we will be in two more schools. We now have 12 diverse board members.

Who are the students and their teachers and how do you interact with the schools?

The board members teach the classes. We will be adding more instructors this fall. The schools provide us with the students and the classrooms. Our classes become part of their curriculum. Our executive director, Bob Birney, a retired professor from Alverno College, has created our curriculum.

I understand that nearly all of the CTE participants are Black and underserved, ages 9 to 24, and from the central city. 

Yes, mostly Black and brown students, but we will provide services to any student.

How do students and parents hear about your programs? 

Basically, through the schools, but we also have the 

the monthly “Hustle and Grow”radio talk show on WNOV. It is produced by students and has been on the air since 2017. The kids come up with the topics they want to talk about. I only ask that the main topics be about entrepreneurship and politics. But they have featured other topics like social bullying, and also the advantages of going to college. They even did a program on how a left-handed person is different.

Mainly, the show is a chance for youth to give their opinions. One girl was an introvert, and she got involved in the radio program to get better at communicating. She was part of the program for four years and is now at UW Madison. A young man who was interested in communications was involved in the Hustle and Grow show, and he is now at UW Oshkosh.  

From what I’ve read, CTE has a very good track record of educating students. Can you give me examples of people who have gone through your program and become successful in their careers?

Good examples are two current board members, James Kirk, who was in our program as a teenager, graduated from college and now is director for Ddvelopment for a large company. The other board member who went through our program is Ryan Gray. He works in human resources for Quad Graphics. 

If I were a board member, what would be my responsibilities?

Your role would be task oriented. And there are five task areas: communication, community relations, resource development, financial development and Ppogramming. You would be assigned to one or two of these. For example, if you do community relations, you would assist in networking with schools, instructors, and the important measure of outcomes. We help young people develop business plans. We help any youth who needs assistance, business or technical. Even give them access to job or intern opportunities. 

What about your own family?

I am divorced, and I have two grown sons, 24 and 25. One graduated from college, the other is still in college. I raised them with a stern arm, and I am proud of them. One thing I’ve learned in my life is you need three streams of income to survive. Got that idea from Robert Kiyosaki’s book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. It’s kind of like insurance because if you lose one income, you still have the other two. My sons adopted my philosophy and are doing well.

Since you grew up in zip code 53206, what changes have you seen in the inner city over your 65 years?

You know that phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child?” When I grew up, my community was a true village. For example, discipline was part of the village. One time as a kid, I got in trouble, and I got a whipping from my cousin, and another whipping from my parents. We were a true neighborhood where you knew your neighbors. On weekends, everybody would be playing in the alleys, and our parents would watch out for us.

What changed is when babies started having babies, 15, 16 year old mothers. When I was in school, teachers and principals meted out punishment. There was no issue. When the riots hit Milwaukee in 1967 and 68, we lost some of our neighborhoods and infrastructure. We lost more when the manufacturing jobs left town in the mid 1980s and ‘90s. I like to think CTE is helping bring back prosperity. 

Since its creation, The Center for Teaching Entrepreneurship has assisted more than 60 businesses run by owners under 24-years-old and served over 19,000 youth through various programs and initiatives. You can find out more at the CTE website: ctempke.org.