The Lepage Center seeks to create an immersive, innovative and entrepreneurial environment at Dominican while providing students and the community with a stimulative, creative, collaborative, and empowering slate of events, programs, and activities designed to challenge best in class thinking and help ensure successful outcomes for individuals and teams.
The Lepage Center encourages University-wide entrepreneurial activity through interactive events and partnerships. These activities provide students, faculty, graduates, and community members access to mentoring relationships, the opportunity to learn best practices, and build skills that transform their view of career horizons.
The Lepage Center invites local entrepreneurs to campus to participate in an interactive student panel and forum to share their industry expertise. Open to all students, faculty, staff, and community members, this forum connects entrepreneurs to a captive audience and allows participants the opportunity to connect with real-world business professionals, such as:
- Leslie Blodgett, Founder, bareMinerals
- Kara Goldin, CEO of Hint Water
- Kathy Tierney, former CEO Sur la Table
- Michael Volpatt, serial entrepreneur
- Nooshin Behroyan, Founder and CEO of Paxon Energy & Infrastructure
- Kevin Johnson, Vice President and Portfolio Manager, Dodge & Cox
- Zachary Kushel, Founder and Managing Partner, Marin Sonoma Impact Ventures
Social mixers provide a basis for networking and feature discussions with expert entrepreneurs and innovators in partnership with the Barowsky School of Business, the Small Business Development Center, and the US Export Assistance Center.
In partnership with the US Commercial Service, the Lepage Center hosts Access Asia, a yearly event where local businesses connect with Commercial Service Officers and work together to coordinate exporting their goods and services to Asian countries.
The establishment of the Lepage Center Advisory Board (LCAB), is conceived to be global in its reach and would comprise of high-level advocates for entrepreneurs. Members would include senior-level international executives, seasoned entrepreneurs, and alumni to provide insight into organizational competencies from business, finance, and the not-for-profit sector. The Board provides real-world expertise and counsel on entrepreneurial best practices across various industrial markets. The Board's focus is to ensure the program's goals and strategies align with emerging market conditions. The Lepage Center Advisory Board meets on a quarterly basis.
