Close to twenty years ago, I became an entrepreneur. Propelled by a lifetime passion – and much to the consternation of my family – I relinquished a corporate career, cashed out my 401K, and sold my apartment to open my first pet care services store. Despite challenges, I grew Kiki’s Pet Spa & Boutique into a successful business with multiple locations. In the process, I became convinced of a calling to combine my experience in entrepreneurship, and interest in public service, with my academic ambitions – to share my expertise through research and published work, and to explore and develop new policies and theories.

To this end, I entered the Public and Urban Policy doctoral program at The Milano School of International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy at The New School. Within four years, I defended – with distinction – my dissertation Still Standing: An Analytic Autoethnographic Case Study Examining Resilience, Business Survival And Other Entrepreneurial Outcomes of Black Small Business Owners Under Conditions Of Gentrification.

My research has been supported by a Knowledge Challenge grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. I am now an Equity in Action Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Kean University. My research is concerned with understanding entrepreneurial resilience and how exogenous shocks impact the business outcomes of small businesses, particularly those of entrepreneurs from disadvantaged backgrounds.

I am particularly interested in the survival and resilience of Black entrepreneurs. I have taught a variety of business courses including Entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneurship, Business Ethics, Managing in Times of Crisis, Marketing Management, and Gender and Sexuality in Marketing. I am passionate about entrepreneurship as a pathway to economic advancement for disenfranchised and marginalized populations, and have been actively involved with non-profit organizations whose missions have been to educate and empower youth through education and entrepreneurship.

I earned my Bachelor’s degree (Cum Laude) in Marketing and International Business from Florida International University, and Master of Business Administration from Georgetown University. I enjoy working out, cooking, travelling, and writing.