The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship is the Smith School’s hub of innovation and entrepreneurship. Activities are focused on building a community of entrepreneurs – and that goal extends well beyond the Smith School to students, faculty and staff across campus; alumni; and entrepreneurs throughout the region.
Aside from mentoring services, academic programs and business competitions, the Dingman Center offers access to one of the Washington-Baltimore region’s largest and most active angel investor groups. Center leaders also welcome questions and offer advice to startups and established businesses. Each week, they help regional entrepreneurs think through challenges and opportunities in the “Business Rx” column in The Washington Post’s Capital Business newspaper. Have a question on a new business, or need help fixing an existing one? Contact us at capbiznews@washpost.com. Meet the Dingman Center experts who might have your answer:
Elana Fine ’97, managing director, leads the Dingman Center to support entrepreneurs on the campus and in the region. Prior to joining the Dingman team in 2010, Fine advised early-stage technology companies on mergers and acquisitions and venture capital fundraising as a vice president at Boston-based investment banking boutique Revolution Partners.
Ed Barrientos, entrepreneur in residence, isCEO and chairman of the board of Brazen Careerist, a career-focused social networking site targeting Gen Y. He is also managing partner of Zeitgeist Holdings LLC, an angel investment firm focused on early-stage technology companies.
Harry Geller ’81, entrepreneur in residence, has started, owned and managed 14 multimillion-dollar businesses, primarily focused in the logistics, food services and real estate fields. Four of his companies have been named to the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing companies.
Doug Humphrey, entrepreneur in residence, is a serial entrepreneur who has started nearly 10 Internet, communications and other technology-based companies, including Digex (IPO in 1997) and Core Location in 1999, the largest data center in the world.
John LaPides, entrepreneur in residence, is the CEO and founder of Maryland-based Shadow Point Advisors, a consulting and investment firm specializing in early-stage to midsize companies. For nearly 30 years, he ran Snow Valley, a regional bottled water company he started, and served a leadership role at the International Bottled Water Association.
Liz Sara, entrepreneur in residence, founded and runs Best Marketing LLC, providing early-stage software companies with strategic marketing, public relations and business development services. Previously, she played principal roles at eCommerce company SpaceWorks, America Online, United Press International and LEXIS/NEXIS.
Jason Shrensky, entrepreneur in residence, splits his time between two startups he co-founded: ÜberOffices (a co-working office space for early-stage tech and media companies) and ComplexInterests (an enterprise software company). Previously, he founded and ran and Reqwired Inc., a learning management system for law and accounting firms that he sold to Thomson Reuters in 2007.
Media Contact
Greg Muraski
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301-405-5283
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gmuraski@umd.edu
About the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and flex MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, business master’s, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.