Mario Morino, a former software entrepreneur, is chairman of the Morino Institute, chairman of Venture Philanthropy Partners, and a special partner at the private equity investment firm General Atlantic Partners. 

Under Mario’s leadership, the Morino Institute works to enhance the lives of children of low-income families by helping to foster innovation in the nonprofit and philanthropic organizations that serve their needs. Founded in 1994, the Morino Institute operates as a catalyst organization, launching entrepreneurial nonprofit organizations to put ideas into action. 

Entrepreneurial organizations created and incubated by the Morino Institute include: Venture Philanthropy Partners, which provides sustained financial and management assistance to boost the strength and impact of youth-focused organizations; the Netpreneur program, a learning community dedicated to supporting entrepreneurship in the National Capital region; the YouthLearn Initiative, which provides tools and resources to strengthen technology-enriched learning programs and is now run by the Massachusetts-based Education Development Center, Inc.; the Youth Development Collaborative Pilot, which helped create networked learning centers in low-income neighborhoods of the District of Columbia; and the Potomac KnowledgeWay, an organization that worked in the mid-1990’s to build the National Capital region’s potential as a technology power in the global economy. 

Prior to establishing the Morino Institute, Mario enjoyed a 30-year career in the information technology industry during its developing years. In 1973, he co-founded Morino Associates, a software firm that merged with another firm in 1989 to become LEGENT Corporation.  LEGENT was acquired in 1995 in what was then the largest transaction in the computer software and services industry. 

Mario serves as a trustee of Case Western Reserve University, The Brookings Institution, and The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region; and as a commissioner of the National Commission on Entrepreneurship.

Mario’s honors and awards include: induction into the Washington Business Hall of Fame (2001), National Ernst and Young Supporter of Entrepreneurship (2000), Washingtonian magazine’s Washingtonian of the Year (1999), American Academy of Achievement’s Golden Plate Award (1999), Greater Washington Area Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year (1998), and KPMG High Tech Entrepreneur of the Year (1993).

Mario is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University, a native of Cleveland, OH, and is married with three children.

 

Morino Institute	www.morino.org
Current Morino Institute Ventures:
Venture Philanthropy Partners	www.venturephilanthropypartners.org
Netpreneur	www.netpreneur.org
Previous Morino Institute Ventures:
The Youthlearn Initiative	www.youthlearn.org
(now led by Education Development Center, Inc.)
Youth Development Collaborative Pilot	www.youthlearn.org/about/ydc_intro.html
(completed)
Potomac Knowledgeway  (completed)	www.knowledgeway.org
Affiliations:
General Atlantic Partners			www.gapartners.com/usa/default.asp
Case Western Reserve University			www.cwru.edu
The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region		www.cfncr.org
The Brookings Institution		www.brookings.edu
National Commission on Entrepreneurship		www.ncoe.org