Ronald B. Bruder

Ron Bruder is the Founder and Chair of Education For Employment (EFE), a network of nonprofits committed to creating employment opportunities for youth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).  A social franchise of independent, locally-run affiliates, EFE identifies critical skill gaps in the local economy, then develops and delivers demand-driven targeted training programs for youth with limited opportunity.  Graduates are linked to jobs through partnerships with employers, civic and educational organizations.  After graduating its first class in 2006 EFE expanded rapidly, with independent affiliates in Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Yemen, Morocco, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.  Capacity-building hubs in the USA, Europe and UAE support the process.  EFE’s distinctive core model provides skills training to unemployed youth and leads to a full-time job.  EFE has provided job training for more than 110,000 youth and has worked with over 3,000 employers.  69% of EFE alumni have been placed in jobs within six months of their EFE graduation.  More than 57% of EFE graduates are young women.  As complementary channels of economic access, EFE offers additional programs to prepare youth to secure employment or become entrepreneurs.  EFE’s shorter term programs guide students on the path to finding a job by providing them with internship opportunities and employability skills.  EFE’s entrepreneurship program prepares young people for self-employment. 

Honored by TIME Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People for his non-profit work with EFE, Bruder began as a serial entrepreneur.  In 1977, Mr. Bruder founded The Brookhill Group, which owns and manages properties throughout the US with a focus on creating investment partnerships to develop or redevelop shopping centers, office buildings and multi-family homes.

Mr. Bruder was an attendee at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.  At the World Economic Forum in Tianjin in 2012, he was named a Schwab Foundation Global Social Entrepreneur for his work in founding EFE.  He has served as a delegate of the Council on Foreign Relations to the Jeddah Economic Forum, and a contributor to the US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar.  He is frequently invited to share EFE’s best practices at major international conferences and fora, and has addressed audiences at the Clinton Global Initiative, World Economic Forum and the United Nations, among others.

Mr. Bruder earned his Bachelor’s degree from Adelphi University, an MBA from New York University, and a Post Master’s degree in Accounting & Taxation from Iona College.