Susan G. Duffy

Executive Director, Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership

Susan Duffy is the Executive Director of the Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (CWEL) at Babson College. The CWEL is a collaborative learning laboratory dedicated to investigating, educating and celebrating women entrepreneurial leaders of all kinds. Susan is recognized within her sphere of influence as a source of thought and initiative in developing innovative education programs and delivering system-wide value in diverse organizations.

Susan earned her Ph.D. from The George Washington University (GWU) in Management and Organization, a Master’s Degree in Applied Behavioral Science from the Johns Hopkins University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition Science from the Pennsylvania State University. Before joining Babson, Susan was an assistant professor at Simmons College where she launched the undergraduate program in entrepreneurship and was named the 2011 “Professor of the Year.” From 2004–2007, she was a member of the GWU Department of Management faculty where she served as the Executive Director of the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) and founded the GWU Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (WEL) initiative. WEL was subsequently recognized as the National Model Specialty Program in Entrepreneurship Education by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Susan has designed and taught courses in entrepreneurship, management, and organizational behavior and is committed to creating learning experiences that change lives. Currently she serves on the board of directors of the International Council for Small Business, the Center for Women’s Business Research, and Venturing Out, a Massachusetts non-profit that teaches entrepreneurship to incarcerated and court-involved adults and high-risk youth. Before entering academia Susan was the co-owner of a commercial construction company and owned and operated the Ho-Lee-Chow Chinese Food franchise restaurant. She has held leadership positions in health care and worked as an organizational consultant and trainer in private and public work systems.