Carlo Franzblau awarded the Diversity & Empowerment Education Award

The Whitney M Young, Jr. Empowerment Luncheon, held by the Pinellas Urban League, was an incredible celebration that awarded Sing Out and READ’s co-founder, Carlo Franzblau, the Diversity & Empowerment Education Award.

This luncheon celebrated the achievements individuals and businesses have made towards increasing the economic, educational, and social inclusion opportunities towards underserved communities in Pinellas County and beyond. The Whitney M. Young, Jr. Luncheon is held in honor of the former National Urban League leader, who for many years, led the Urban League into a position of significant power and influence throughout the world by helping thousands o f people struggling against discrimination. This annual event has become the Pinellas County Urban League’s anchor event in celebration of Black History Month.

Carlo was one of three honorees who were recognized for their contributions to the local underserved communities of Pinellas County, along with Deputy Mayor and City Administrator City of St. Petersburg,  Kanika Tomalin, and Chief of Police City of St. Petersburg, Anthony Holloway. Carlo graciously accepted this award and made a speech expressing his gratitude for the recognition and passion for the work Sing Out and READ does.

Carlo Franzblau came to his work in the field of literacy in an unconventional way. When his three children were very young, he wanted to sing them lullabies but, as he could not carry a tune, it was a less than pleasant experience for all within earshot. So, as a hobby, he began working on a computer program that would teach him (and others) to sing on pitch. Miraculously, that program worked, and Carlo and many other people learned to sing (more or less) in tune.

In 2007 Carlo and his team won the Wall Street Journal’s Tech Innovation of the Year award (in the software category) for his program, Tune into Reading. Over the next dozen years, this program was used in over 1,000 schools in 30+ states, with more than 25,000 students. Along the way, Carlo was recognized as the inventor of this learning method through the issuing of three US patents on the technology that makes “sing to improve reading” program truly unique.

Carlo worked for 30 years with his father and his sister in their Tampa-based business, Thompson cigar company. After the Franzblau family sold that business in 2018, Carlo and his wife Beth, founded the literacy nonprofit Sing Out and READ. 

Sing Out and READ has grown quickly in three years, going from serving 50 families to more than 500 in the last 12 month period. SOAR’s short-term goal is to “move the needle” by reducing the 30+ percent point Reading Achievement Gap for communities of color in Pinellas County. 

Carlo was born and raised in Tampa. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Harvard College and Harvard Business School. Before working at Thompson cigar, Carlo worked at Paramount Pictures and The American Express Company. Carlo is the holder of three US patents for software technology. As a hobby, Carlo plays bass guitar and Tampa-based classic rock cover band, south of Kennedy.

On behalf of Sing Out and READ, Carlo was honored to accept the Diversity & Empowerment Education Award from the Pinellas Urban League, and grateful for the opportunity to catalyze change and growth in reading literacy among at-risk youth in Pinellas County and beyond. 

View photos from the Empowerment Luncheon below: