Speaker's Name
Johnetta Boseman Hardy

Title
Executive Director, Entrepreneurship Academy

Company Name
Bowie State University

Bio

After more than 20 years of championing the power of entrepreneurship in transforming communities, Johnetta brings her energy to the Bowie State University’s Entrepreneurship Academy, as Executive Director. Under the new Presidents vision, providing entrepreneurship education among all BSU students is a key component of her agenda, and the Entrepreneurship Academy plays a pivotal role in carrying out that mandate. She is a recognized thought leader in entrepreneurship, she has devoted her career to entrepreneurship education including K-12 and post-secondary, and connecting emerging and established entrepreneurs with networks and resources to propel growth in their ventures. To date, she has counseled over 3,000 businesses and helped secure more than $25M dollars in loans and investment dollars.
• Johnetta has lead and managed other entrepreneurship programs including serving as the Executive Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Baltimore; there, she created powerful initiatives and events to inspire students, faculty and alum to think entrepreneurially and launch businesses and serving as the Executive Director of the Howard University Institute for Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Innovation, a distinctive cross disciplinary program, which also encouraged entrepreneurship at all 105 historically black colleges and the regional African-American community.
• She most recently served as the Regional Director for the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship Baltimore/DC Metro Region, where she created and managed entrepreneurial programs to inspire over 3000 youth in under reserved communities to stay in school, thus changing the trajectory of their life.
• She also founded the Hardy Solutions Group, LLC, a consulting company that empowers institutions, organizations and small businesses with entrepreneurial thinking, programs, education and business development.
• Previous leadership roles include: State Director for the DC/Maryland Area Entrepreneurship Coalition (Appointed by the National Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education); Associate Executive Director for the National Association of Black Accountants; and Business Director for the Howard University Small Business Development Center.
A dynamic presenter, Johnetta has led seminars for numerous organizations; she is a certified NxLevel Business Instructor; and an award-winning educator who has taught entrepreneurship courses at the University of Baltimore, Howard University, and experiential education leader for The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars (TWC). At TWC, she was honored as Faculty of the Year. Other awards include: Bowie State University National Alumni Association Leadership Award, The Daily Record “Maryland’s Top 100 Women,” the Legacy in Entrepreneurship Education Award, the Advocate of the Year from The Greater Baltimore SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) and many more. Johnetta has been featured on numerous radio & television shows and in local and national publications. She is currently writing a book focusing on African American women in entrepreneurship; and she serves and participates on many boards and community service projects.

Session List

How to Create an Innovative Ecosystem in HBCUs
Thursday, February 07th 1:00 PM to 2:15 PM Room: Delaware Suite B- Lobby Level