New York – October 27, 2026 -- Two student ventures, a custom bag-strap cushion and a wearable LED social-battery pin, earned places at the U.S. National Youth Entrepreneurship Showcase on Nov. 18, 2026, at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) named the winners from its Capital Youth Entrepreneurship Showcase.
Perfectly Padded and Social Charge advance from the Capital region
Celia Salsbury and Giabella Catello of Frances Scott Key Elementary-Middle School in Baltimore advance with Perfectly Padded, which makes custom strap cushions for heavy bags. Bria White of Oxon Hill High School in Prince George's County, Maryland, advances with Social Charge, a wearable LED pin that displays the wearer's social battery level.
The national event may lead to the World Finals on Nov. 19 at 787 Seventh Avenue in New York City.
Executives from EY US, Brown Rudnick and Citizens Bank judged the pitches
The judging panel included Daniel Kotter, Greater Washington, DC, Office Managing Partner at EY US, and Rodger D. Moss, Jr., Partner at Brown Rudnick. Kashif Mahmood, Multi Site Branch Manager at Citizens Bank, also judged, along with Chanté Goodwin, NFTE alumna and President and CEO of Your Way IT Solutions, LLC. Vincent Perez, Founder and Managing Partner of Long View Partners, completed the panel.
Meg Stewart, Executive Director of the NFTE Capital Region, said the event shows "what becomes possible when young people are given the tools, support, and space to think like entrepreneurs."
Corporate sponsors fund the regional competition
Brown Rudnick LLP hosted the showcase. EY US, the G-Unity Foundation, PayPal, Santander and Zuora presented it, and Britebound provided additional support.
NFTE also named its regional award recipients. EY US was Corporate Volunteer of the Year, and NFTE alumnus and Groom Guy founder Darius Davie was Individual Volunteer of the Year. Jerome Kyler of IDEA Public Charter School was Rookie Teacher of the Year, and veteran educator Deneen Moore McDonald received a Lifetime Achievement Award.