WCC Creates Advisory Panel To Help College Support Entrepreneurs

The Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at Westchester Community College has formed an Advisory Board comprised of prominent leaders and innovators from various organizations across the county. 

Members include Larry Gottlieb representing Westchester County Economic Development; Kim Jacobs, Community Capital of New York; Fenton Soliz, Wells Fargo; Robert Nechols, Westchester Community College; Fannie Aleman-Lansch, HSBC; Professor Scorpio Rogers, Westchester Community College; Yuval Marcus, Leason Ellis, LLC; Professor Desi Colon, Westchester Community College; Professor Richard Hyland, Westchester Community College; Peter Herrero, NY Hospitality Group; and Jeanne Maloney, Westchester Community College. 

They represent various industries and interests and include bankers, government representatives, leaders of non-profit organizations, business professors, and entrepreneurs themselves, all with some area of specialty related to entrepreneurship.

 “The leadership and expertise of this seasoned Advisory Board will help shape the strategic direction of the IES,” said Teresita Wisell, director of the Gateway Center.

Wisell said Westchester County is rich with entrepreneurial assets and Westchester Community College is in a unique position to harness its internal and external resources to provide a dynamic entrepreneurial education program to our students and the community, contributing to the economic strength of Westchester.  Wisell described the Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies as a resource hub for entrepreneurial development at all stages, facilitating programs that respond to the needs of entrepreneurs.

With the strategic guidance of the Advisory Board, the Institute is designed to take an innovative and comprehensive approach to new ventures and small business development by combining advice, expertise, and other resources to offer new and growing businesses.

The Center looks to develop more comprehensive and integrated systems for assisting entrepreneurs to either start or grow their business to profitability.

“The Institute will assist entrepreneurs at all stages of need," said Professor Scorpio Rogers, a graduate of Columbia Business School who teaches Entrepreneurship at WCC. "Incubators are valuable to start-up businesses, but the Center will help entrepreneurs at all stages of development from those just beginning to nurture a business concept to those with years of operations looking to grow to a new level.”

Events planned for the center include a series of free workshops for entrepreneurs. The “Small Business Success” workshops will give participants relevant and practical tools to help them get started. From defining a customer base, to selecting products and location, to providing marketing tools that help promote a business, these workshops will give aspiring entrepreneurs a strategic roadmap that goes beyond traditional tactical approaches.

Going forward, the Center will seek to expand partnerships with various organizations throughout the area with the goal of developing a resource hub for entrepreneurs.

“For new business owners, it’s often passion first, planning second," said Larry Gottlieb, the Westchester’s director of Economic Development. "Therefore, we must offer viable guidance – pointing people to the resources they will need in order to truly succeed – without overly managing the process to the point we are extinguishing the flames of entrepreneurism.”  

The Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at Westchester Community College is funded by the Skirball Foundation. For more information or to register for workshops, call 914-606-5616 or contact the Institute via e-mail at eridania.quinn@sunywcc.edu.