Doing the Real Work

“The real work of creating a more just society falls on each of us, every day and wherever we may be.” - UD President Dennis Assanis, May 29

For the Horn Entrepreneurship team, this real, everyday work involves standing alongside and behind an amazing, inclusive and diverse community of student innovators and entrepreneurs, many of whom are actively pursuing the creative destruction of the status quo. It involves continuously asking ourselves “why are we doing it this way?” and “how can we make it better?”. And most recently, it involves reflecting on what else we, as entrepreneurship educators, can and should be doing to help make a world that is fully aligned with our values – a world where the disgust, hurt and anger we acknowledge and share with so many today, is replaced by a pervasive sense of optimism, equal opportunity and abundance. 

As entrepreneurship educators, we know that the first step we need to take is to recognize that a problem exists and understand the problem(s) we aim to address. To that end, we’ve begun reaching out to the members of UD’s entrepreneurship community who have publicly shared their feelings, requesting dialogue aimed at more fully understanding their experiences and insights. Through the posting of this message, we openly invite all UD students, recent alumni and anyone who considers themselves to be part of our community to connect and engage with any member of our team. Your voice is important to us.

Artwork and words from Stephanie Richardson, visual arts student and part of the Horn marketing team: "Let It Grow was a piece that I created in 2017, my senior year of high school, as a part of my AP Studio Portfolio. It was a series promoting body positivity and self love. This piece in particular was about the Natural Hair Movement, and how it encourages black women to love and nurture their hair. When creating this piece, I saw that I was wasting a lot of paint. Instead of throwing it away, I scraped up the dry acrylic from my palette, and shaped them into flowers and stuck it on the canvas. The second piece is called Black Skin. It is part of the same portfolio, and it reflects on the insecurities that a lot of my darker skinned brothers and sisters struggle with throughout much of their life. I took a famous quote from Marcus Garvey, and inscribed it in gold on the face of the portrait. I then took dried up paint and formed leaves to create a laurel." To check out more of Stephanie's amazing work, click here. 

1. the students served in all aspects of Horn programming,
2. the mentors, speakers, philanthropic investors and others who engage with Horn students, and
3. the faculty and staff members who are entrusted to guide student learning.

We will also seek to add a new "rule" to the walls of the Venture Development Center (VDC) to serve as a tangible affirmation that UD’s entrepreneurship community values diversity, equity, and inclusion. If all goes to plan and the VDC re-opens for fall semester, then this new rule will help to welcome the class of 2024 and welcome back all returning students.

Black Lives Matter.

Dan Freeman, Founding Director, freemand@udel.edu

Julie Frieswyk, Assistant Director, Horn Youth julief@udel.edu

Tricia Monnig, Program Manager, Academic & Enrichment, tmonnig@udel.edu

Mike Rinkunas, Assistant Director, Commercialization, rinkunas@udel.edu

Sue Parkowski, Administrative Assistant suep@udel.edu

Meg Marcozzi, Manager, Marketing & Events, megm@udel.edu 

Carrie Fang, Business Administrator, cfang@udel.edu 

Vince DiFelice, Senior Instructor of Entrepreneurship, Faculty Director,Venture Support, vincentd@udel.edu

Emerson Marine, Program Coordinator, Enrichment, emarine@udel.edu 

Rachel Strauss, Program Coordinator, Youth Programs, rstrauss@udel.edu 

Vanessa Manges-Spence, Marketing Communications Coordinator, VSpence@udel.edu 

Ted Foltyn, Adjunct Faculty, Signature Internship Coordinator, tjfoltyn@udel.edu

Tatiana Rice, Assistant, Academic & Enrichment Programs, trice@udel.edu

Tim Johnson, Director of Development, timj@udel.edu

Lindsey Mix, Digital Media Coordinator, lmix@udel.edu

Shelley Pierce, Special Programs Assistant, Commercialization Programs, sspierce@udel.edu 

Gail Ball, Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative, gailball@udel.edu

Jan Castro, Content Marketing Intern, jan@udel.edu

Laurie Prysock, Manager, External Engagement, lprysock@udel.edu

Melanie Schleiniger, Salesforce Administrator, mschlein@udel.edu

Allison Sanders, Content Marketing Specialist, alpabud@udel.edu

Ryan Sigmund, Digital Marketing Intern, ryansigm@udel.edu

Stephanie Richardson, Content Marketing Intern, skrich@udel.edu

Lindsey Janes, Event Planning Intern, lindseyj@udel.edu