Dr. Colleen Robb is an internationally recognized researcher in the area of strategy and social entrepreneurship, specifically examining how social ventures can maintain advantage in the marketplace. Dr. Robb currently serves as an assistant professor of entrepreneurship for California State University, Chico (CSUC). At CSUC, Dr. Robb is the curriculum coordinator for Introduction to Entrepreneurship and an advisory board member for the Center for Excellence in Learning & Teaching. She also serves on the 3CORE Economic Development Strategy Committee and the CSUC Interdisciplinary Rural Partnerships Committee.
She has over fifteen years of experience in the nonprofit sector in various roles for organizations such as MedShare International, the University of Cincinnati, and Best Buddies International. Most notably, Dr. Robb was the founding associate director for Florida International University’s (FIU) Pino Entrepreneurship Center where she was responsible for developing both academic and outreach programs, general management of all programs related to the Center and its five institutes, fundraising, and teaching classes and workshops. She developed and managed FIU’s annual business plan competition, spearheaded a social entrepreneurship track, and coached hundreds of entrepreneurs on their business plans and pitches for raising capital. She has also worked in various start-ups in the athletic, cosmetic, manufacturing, nonprofit, retail, and technology sectors.
For several years she taught in Nova Southeastern University’s MBA programs and for the Keller Graduate School of Management. She also worked in South Africa for Oklahoma State University’s Entrepreneurship and Empowerment Program as the lead faculty advisor where she coached and instructed student teams working with historically disadvantaged entrepreneurs in Cape Town.
Dr. Robb holds a B.F.A. and M.B.A. from Florida International University and a Doctorate of Economics and Business Administration with an emphasis on Social Entrepreneurship from Abo Akademi University in Finland.