Dr. Elizabeth Cooperman is a professor in the Business School at the University of Colorado Denver and currently serves as the Professional MBA Program Director. Dr. Cooperman teaches Financial Institutions Management, Entrepreneurial Finance, Financial Institutions and Markets, and Short-term Financial Management. Her research and teaching interests are in financial institution management, corporate finance, and entrepreneurial finance.
Dr. Cooperman is the coauthor of the latest revised edition of Financial Institutions Management: An Asset/Liability Approach. Her research articles have appeared in The Journal of Finance, Financial Management, The Journal of Real Estate Economics, The Review of Economics and Statistics, Financial Review, The Journal of Financial Research, The Journal of Financial Services Research, The Journal of Business Research, and other finance and economics journals. She previously served as the Program Director for the MS in Finance program, and was given the Dean's Outstanding Service Award by for the Business School in 2002. At the University of Baltimore, where she taught previously, she won the Dean's Faculty Service Award in 1995, the Baker Research Chair in 1993-1996, and the Outstanding Advisor of the Year Award in 1992.
Dr. Cooperman has a PhD in Finance and an MBA from the University of Georgia. She was the economist member for the Maryland State Bank Board in 1994-1996. She is a past president of the Midwest Finance Association and has served as track chair in Financial Institutions and Markets for both the Southern Finance Association and the Midwest Finance Association.
Dr. David Forlani teaches courses that focus on the planning and implementation of marketing programs, especially as they relate to new market opportunities. He has taught the following courses at the University of Colorado Denver: Marketing Management, Marketing Research, Marketing Strategy, and Strategic Marketing Relationships.
Dr. Forlani's interest in the new business creation processes has strongly influenced both his instructional preferences and his academic research program. His research activities focus on understanding the impact of individual differences and contextual factors on the risk taking behaviors of managers who make new business creation decisions. His articles have appeared in The Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, The Journal of Business Venturing, The Journal of Product Innovation Management, Psychology & Marketing, and other journals.
Dr. Forlani holds a PhD in Business from the University of Minnesota, an MBA with a focus on Marketing Strategy from Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, and an undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of Florida.
Dr. Dawn Gregg is an associate professor in the Business School at the University of Colorado Denver and currently teaches Service Oriented Architecture, Designing for the Web, eBusiness Systems Development, and Introduction to Business Problem Solving in the Information Systems Program and Strategic Web Development in the Entrepreneurship Program. Her current research and teaching focuses on how to organize and maintain web-based content so that it can be used to better meet business and special education needs.
Dr. Gregg's research articles have appeared in MIS Quarterly, the International Journal of Electronic Commerce, IEEE Transactions on Systems Man, and Cybernetics, Communications of the ACM, Decision Support Systems and other information systems journals. She received the Dean's Scholar Award recognizing the best researcher of the year in the Business School in 2008 and the Outstanding Tenure-Track Teacher of the Year Award from the Business School in 2005. In 2008, Dr. Gregg won the Bard Center Business Plan Competition for her special education software firm, Developing Minds Software, which she started with a group of her students.
Dr. Gregg received her PhD in Computer Information Systems and her MS in Information Management from Arizona State University, her MBA from Arizona State University West, and her BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California Irvine. Prior to her doctoral studies, she was employed for nine years as a research and development engineer.
As an expert in Project Management and Operations, Michael Harper has been teaching at the Business School for over 15 years. He adopts a traditional approach to teaching that includes: lectures to present tools, techniques, and strategy; assignments to develop knowledge and skill; and case studies or projects to challenge application in a small business environment. Areas of Research focus on empirical research in perceived risk, inventory analysis, and business statistics.
Mr. Harper was a staff member at Los Alamos National Laboratory where research included nuclear containment at the Nevada Test Site, microearthquake research, tsunami research, rock mechanics and fragmentation of oil shale, decision modeling, and bayesian statistics. He was also the Vice-president at Professional Geophysics Incorporated where consulting included software development and project management.
Arlen D Meyers, MD, MBA is Professor of Otolaryngology, Dentistry and Engineering at the University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus. He is an award winning researcher, clinician and educator and is the founder and CEO of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs . In addition, he is the Director of the Bioinnovation and Entrepreneurship Program at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine Graduate School.
Dr. Meyers is a Fulbright Scholar, a Harvard-Macy Fellow and a National Library of Medicine Fellow . He is a serial bioentrepreneur and a consultant to several life science companies. Dr. Meyers was named one of the 100 Most Influential Physician Executives of 2010 by Modern Healthcare.
Jung Park is the founder and CEO of MetroBoom, a Denver-based, comprehensive style center for men. The business plan for MetroBoom was awarded with the 1st place honor at the 3rd Annual Business Plan Competition hosted by Bard Center for Entrepreneurship at University of Colorado at Denver in 2004. Prior to enrolling in the graduate program at University of Colorado at Denver, Jung worked in the field of branding, where he helped his clients with creating new brands, evolving traditional brands onto web space, and refining existing brands. Jung has also worked as the director of user experience at an internet solution agency, where he managed teams of designers, usability engineers, information architects, and programmers to design, build, and implement large e-enterprise infrastructures. Jung received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in communication design from the Parsons School of Design in New York City. His passion for design began earlier when he attended the "Fame" high school in New York City, also known as Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music, Art and Performing Arts.
Dr. Parthasarathy is an associate professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado Denver and is also the director of the entrepreneurship program. He teaches New Product Development, Marketing Research and Marketing Management. In addition he has taught The Business Plan, Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship and Marketing a New Business at the Bard Center. His research inerests focus on customer retention, switching and discontinuance behavior, and the diffusion of new products. He has published in such journals as Information Systems Research, Inernational Marketing Review, and the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. Dr. Parthasarathy has international entrepreneurship experience and was the co-founder of two small businesses in India, and one venture that involved multinational entrepreneurship.
Dr. Parthasarathy's goal is to provide a well-balanced yet challenging educational experience to students. In addition to a solid conceptual foundation, he brings in high-profile and experienced guest speakers, involve students with real-world case studies, and organize projects that students often conduct for local companies. He also tries to organize and encourage students to participate in networking events and other activities that make them more marketable to prospective employers. Finally, he tries to make the educational process an enjoyable experience for students because he firmly believes that one learns best when one is immersed in the subject matter.
Mr. Jan Rutherford teaches Leadership in New Ventures at the Bard Center for Entrepreneurship for MBA students and Doctor of Nursing Practice candidates. He has over 20 years of healthcare experience in a variety of leadership roles in marketing, sales, business development, information technology, and training. He spent 13 years in the pharmaceutical industry and gained leadership experience in the development and execution of multiple business plans and strategies. In addition, past leadership posts have involved e-business initiatives (including mobile technologies), acquisitions, new product development, customer relationship management initiatives, and organizational development. He is currently an executive with a local healthcare venture.
Mr. Rutherford studied new product development and innovation at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. He has been a speaker at industry conferences in Europe and the United States. Prior to beginning his business career, he spent six years in the U.S. Army Special Forces as a medic and an "A" team executive officer and spent three years in military intelligence as an officer.
Mr. Rutherford holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix, where his research focused on the effects of long-distance learning on job performance. He earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of South Florida, and was a Distinguished Military Graduate.
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Ira Selkowitz is a senior instructor at the University of Colorado Denver's Business School. He has served in this capacity since 2006, after having taught as an adjunct instructor at the university for 20 years.
Mr. Selkowitz is licensed as an attorney in Colorado and California. From 1983-2003 he had his own law practice, specializing in business law and entertainment law, including business planning, real estate, and intellectual property issues. From 2003-2005, Mr. Selkowitz worked as the Director of Preservation Services for Historic Denver, Inc., a non-profit organization founded to advocate historic preservation issues in the Denver metro area.
In addition to his private law practice, from 1994-1997 he worked as a booking agent and in-house counsel for the artist representation firm Scott O'Malley & Associates in Colorado Springs. From 1999-2001, he served as the Executive Director of Colorado Lawyers for the Arts, a non-profit organization that provides educational programs and pro bono (volunteer) legal and mediation services to artists and arts organizations in Colorado.
Mr. Selkowitz's research articles have appeared in Entertainment Law & Finance and the Administrative Law Review. He received his JD from the University of Denver, his MA in Historic Preservation from Goucher College, Baltimore, Maryland, and his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
Dr. Manuel Serapio, Jr., is an associate professor of management and international business and the program director of the MS in International Business. He also serves as the faculty director of the Center for International Business Education and Research at UCD.
Professor Serapio's research and teaching interests focus on international business, cross-border research and development, the globalization of services, and international entrepreneurship. He recently designed and developed the first faculty development program in international entrepreneurship (to be offered by the CIBERs at UC Denver and Indiana University). In 2001, Professor Serapio first developed and offered the international entrepreneurship course, with the objective of teaching international business from an entrepreneurial and deal-making perspective.
Dr. Serapio is the author/editor of three books, four technical reports for the US Department of Commerce and over a dozen articles. His publications have appeared in leading journals, such as Management International Review, Organizational Dynamics, Research Policy, Academy of Management Executive, Asian Business Management, IEEE Spectrum, and Research Technology Management. His work has been cited or published in The Financial Times, Entrepreneur Magazine, Investors Business Daily, The Rocky Mountain News, The Denver Business Journal, Nikkei Weekly (Japan), and The Los Angeles Times.
In addition to his teaching and research, Dr. Serapio has lectured for or consulted for international organizations and multinational companies in the US and Asia. These include IBM Corporation, Lockheed Martin, First Data, StorageTek, Molson Coors Brewing Company and others. He has also coauthored several grant applications that have received over $4 million in funding for UCD.
Dr. Serapio received a PhD in International Business from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an MBA from the University of Hawaii and an undergraduate degree from Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines. He received the Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award in the Business School in 1990-1991.
Sam Thomas is the Manager for Business Retention and Expansion for the State of Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT). He also serves as the Chair of Governor’s Asian Advisory Council representing over 150,000 Asian Americans in the State and he is an adjunct Professor at Red Rocks Community college teaching Principles of Leadership and Small Business Management. Sam is a highly accomplished public speaker who recently had a successful speech tour in India.
Prior to joining the Governor’s team, Sam served as the Senior Vice President for Panditview Software llc; an Information Technology Company with a focus on delivering SAP ERP solutions located in Centennial, Colorado. Sam is a lifelong Customer Care and Operations expert with several years of senior level Aviation, Retail, IT and Policy advising experience. Sam is an entrepreneur who has owned and operated two successful companies.
Sam has been active in State wide and National political campaigns since 1992. Sam served as the Surrogate Speaker for Senator Mark Udall during his 2008. He has a long history of civic and charitable involvement. He has served on several community boards and currently serves on the board of a trust that operates an Orphanage.
Sam holds his B.A in International Politics with a minor in Economics and an MA in International Relations with a minor in Economic Development, from University of Denver’s Korbel School.
Jesse Wolff CEO of Goodwill industries and a great social. With over 20 years of experience in the investment management and nonprofit industry, Jesse Wolff currently serves as President and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Denver. Goodwill employs 1,200 people and generates over $85 million of annual direct fiscal and economic impact in its territory. Jesse oversees the various community programs that serve more than 18,000 individuals and generate large economic impact in the metro Denver and the Front Range as well the 43 retail stores and donation centers that operate to support Goodwill’s mission of helping people in need through the power of work.
Prior to Goodwill, Jesse served as President and CEO of The Kempe Foundation, a nonprofit organization nationally recognized as a leader in the field of child abuse treatment, prevention and research. He was also CEO of Community Shares of Colorado, his first nonprofit position after a 15-year career in investment portfolio management and corporate finance.
Jesse has served on many boards and commissions, including the University Prep charter school, Colorado Children’s Trust Fund, the Denver Office of Strategic Partnerships, and Social Venture Partners Denver. Honors and recognitions include being named a Bonfils-Stanton Foundation “Livingston Fellow”, was a finalist for 9News “Leader of the Year” and “CEO of the Year” Colorado Business magazine, and awarded the 2011 “Industry Leader – Nonprofits & Foundations” by the Denver Business Journal. His nonprofit organizations have been chosen as the 2008 “Nonprofit of the Year” by the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, 2012 “Nonprofit of the Year” by the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and awarded the 2012 Martin Luther King, Jr., “Business Social Responsibility” award.