Laurel Ofstein has taught courses at both the graduate and undergraduate level on creativity, entrepreneurship, family business, and strategy. Before entering academia, she was a consultant in the financial services industry at Accenture. Laurel has a PhD in Business Administration with a focus on entrepreneurship from University of Illinois at Chicago and conducts research on creativity and innovation within ecosystems, specifically entrepreneurial teams, organizations, and business accelerators. She recently concluded an academic sabbatical spent researching community-based incubators focused on poverty-alleviation and economic development, and the financial and social challenges associated with these efforts.
Laurel is passionate about helping students discover their own creativity and helping them to build an entrepreneurial mindset. She loves supporting students in developing their businesses and their business pitching skills.
In her spare time, Laurel enjoys hanging out with her family, playing with her crazy dog, running, skiing, Sudoku puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, and watching bad reality TV.