The Blank School engages Babson community members and leads research to create entrepreneurial leaders.
Upcoming Events
A Conversation With Our Award-Winning Researchers
Anushka Daunt
PhD Candidate in Entrepreneurship and Strategy, University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Heatherjean MacNeil
Visiting Professor of Organizational Behavior, Northeastern University
Dr. Bari L. Bendell
Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship, Suffolk University
Dr. Barbara Orser
Professor Emerita, Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa
Educator Roundtable Discussions
Each quarter, members of the Diana International Research Institute (DIRI) and other interested stakeholders participate in virtual educator roundtable calls with experts from around the world to discuss best practices, teaching materials, and pedagogies for educating women entrepreneurs. These roundtable calls are open to all DIRI members for free and to all non-members for a fee.
Researcher Roundtable Discussions
Join us for a series of virtual researcher roundtable discussions with experts from around the world to explore inspiring new research directions, theoretical lenses, methods, and approaches that can lead to new understandings of women’s entrepreneurship. These roundtable calls are open to all DIRI members for free and to all non-members for a fee.
Investor Roundtable Discussions
Multiple times each year, Diana International Research Institute (DIRI) members and other interested stakeholders participate in virtual roundtable calls centered around venture capital and investment, with opportunities to learn from and ask questions about the challenges and successes that entrepreneurs have faced during their fundraising journey. These roundtable calls are open to all DIRI members for free and to all non-members for a fee.
Diana International Research Conference
Established in 1999 by five founding scholars, the Diana International Research Conference is the premier international research conference on women’s entrepreneurship, gathering the collaborative network of researchers studying women’s entrepreneurship from more than 60 countries. Moving to a new global location each year, over 100 scholars from around the world join this annual forum to share global research dedicated to asking and answering questions about women entrepreneurs and how they grow their ventures. Learn more here.
Diana International Impact Day
The Diana International Research Institute Impact Day is the first global convening of researchers, educators, investors, policymakers, women entrepreneurs, and other disrupters who are dedicated to advancing women's entrepreneurship through the collective discussion of the unique challenges that these founders are facing. The theme for the inaugural 2019 Impact Day was Catalyzing New Models and Innovations for Financing Women Entrepreneurs where 215+ stakeholders from 14 states and 8 countries came together to collectively explore practical solutions, develop best practices in acceleration and funding, and generate needed policy solutions to leverage one of the largest economic opportunities of our time. The day led to a report calling for new models of funding for entrepreneurial women and documentation of the continued disparity in funding by gender. Learn more here.
Previous Roundtable Discussions

A Three-Year Retrospective on Women’s Entrepreneurship
1st Quarter Researcher Roundtable, 2023
Speaker: Dr. Amanda Elam

Entrepreneurship Policy Through a Gender Lens
Findings, Next Steps, and Research Opportunities Based on a 27-Country OECD-GWEP Report
Speakers: Dr. Susan Coleman, Dr. Colette Henry, and Dr. Naomi Birdthistle
Educator Roundtable: Sales Fundamentals
Topic: Sales Fundamentals for Women Entrepreneurs & Teaching Sales in an Undergraduate Curriculum
Speaker: Mary Jacobs, Assistant Dean of Graduate Programs and MBA Program Director, Saint Mary’s University
Investor Roundtable: The Fundraising Journey
Topic: Fundraising as an Entrepreneur
Speakers: Laurel Taylor of FutureFuel.io, Marian Leitner-Waldman of Archer Roose, and Ziad Moukheiber, President of Boston Harbor Angels
2nd Quarter Educator Roundtable, 2021
Topic: Gender and Entrepreneurship: Insights From and For Research and Teaching
Speaker: Vishal K Gupta, Associate Professor, The University of Alabama.
2nd Quarter Educator Roundtable, 2021
Topic: Developing and deploying behavioral interventions designed to foster personal agency for women entrepreneursSpeakers:
- Anita Shankar, Associate Scientist in the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health & Executive Director and Lead Trainer, Self-Empowerment and Equity for Change (SEE Change) Initiative
- Paul Spurzem, Lead Trainer and Program Director, SEE Change Initiative
1st Quarter Educator Roundtable, 2021
Topic: Feminist Business Models: How they differ, why they matter, and how they support women and feminist entrepreneurs
Speaker: Dr. CV Harquail, Co-Founder of Feminists At Work & Author of Feminism: A Key Idea in Business
4th Quarter Educator Roundtable
Topic: Financing Strategies for Women-owned Firms and Corresponding Curriculum Development on Entrepreneurial Finance for Women
Speaker: Dr. Susan Coleman, Professor of Finance Emeritus, University of Hartford
3rd Quarter Educator Roundtable
Topic: Developing Curriculum that Meets the Needs of Women Entrepreneurs
Speaker: Dr. Barbara Orser, Full Professor and Deloitte Professor in the Management of Growth Enterprises at the Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa
2nd Quarter Educator Roundtable
Topic: Developing Innovative Programming to Weave Together Entrepreneurial Women Throughout the Ecosystem
Speaker: Dr. Doan Winkel, John J. Kahl Sr. Chair in Entrepreneurship at John Carroll University. Co-Founder of TeachingEntrepreneurship.org; President-Elect, USASBE
1st Quarter Educator Roundtable
Topic: Diana International Impact Report Findings
Speaker: Dr. Patti Greene, Former Director of the Women’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor