Lewis Sheats, or just 'Sheats' as he is known by his students, is an entrepreneur and educator. He has an extensive background in opportunity identification, new venture planning, and strategic planning & execution. Sheats has leveraged his experience to develop nationally recognized entrepreneurship curriculum that combines practicality and theory. In his entrepreneurial endeavors, Sheats has led the creation and development of several unique ventures from launch to profitability. He has raised venture funding and bootstrapped ventures from concept to exit. In addition to being the lead in launching numerous startups, Sheats serves on multiple boards for new ventures and established organizations. In academia, Sheats used his leadership and entrepreneurial experience to develop and lead NC State University's entrepreneurship curriculum based on developing entrepreneurial mindsets and individual student preparedness. As the founding Executive Director, Sheats launched the NC State Entrepreneurship Clinic, an initiative where students are engaged in experiential learning, are embedded in the entrepreneurship ecosystem, and are provided the space and tools needed to execute their own ideas. As the Assistant Vice Provost for Entrepreneurship at NC State, Sheats lead the efforts of cooperation across programs throughout the university. He was the driving force behind creating efficiencies among programs, opening communication channels, and promoting collaboration between faculty and students. These efforts led to the undergraduate and graduate programs to be consistently rank in the top 20 in the United States and number one in the Southeast. In November 2021, Sheats was named the Executive Director of the Chaifetz Center for Entrepreneurship at Saint Louis University (SLU). As the Executive Director, he has engaged students from all disciplines at SLU in developing and launching programs for their entrepreneurial growth, embed them in the St. Louis entrepreneurship ecosystem, and provide the tools and resources needed to find their pathways of success. Sheats is an award-winning educator who was named an Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor by the NC State Alumni Association and the 2015 Dr. John S. Risley Entrepreneur of the Year. His programs and work have been recognized by the United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship and the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers. He has been invited and presented the Clinic Model and methods of building an entrepreneurial mindset around the world, including Denmark, Moldova, Ukraine, Canada, Gibraltar, Japan and Australia. Sheats is passionately devoted to preparing the next generation through entrepreneurship education.