Babson’s Thornton Keynotes For National Urban League’s Entrepreneurship Summit

href="http://www3.babson.edu/Academics/faculty/thornton.cfm">Elizabeth Thornton

The theme of the League’s Entrepreneurship Summit was Small Business Matters, a subject with which Thornton has both expertise and passion. Her talk, entitled “Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset,” addressed the questions and fears of would-be business owners by explaining who entrepreneurs are, why they do it, and what it takes to succeed. 
 
As Babson’s first Chief Diversity Officer, Thornton is a member of the President’s Cabinet, leading efforts to create and sustain an inclusive multicultural environment that attracts, educates, empowers and retains underrepresented students, faculty, and staff.  At the same time, she is a part-time member of the Entrepreneurship Faculty teaching in the graduate and undergraduate programs.

Thornton was founder and CEO of the training and consulting firm, Entrepreneurship Advantage, Inc., which helps dislocated or downsized workers regain economic self-sufficiency by creating small businesses. She has assisted more than 85 businesses in Massachusetts and hundreds nationwide, and has consulted with the Pioneer Institute, the Center for Women and Enterprise, Inner City Entrepreneurs, the State of Massachusetts, and the City of Boston, to name a few.

She has 15+ years of corporate experience with institutions such as American Express and Bank One and 15+ years of entrepreneurial experience with clients such as the Presidential Inaugural Committee, Clinton ’92, The White House, and several small businesses.

In addition, last year Governor Deval Patrick appointed Thornton to the Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board (MWIB).

Thornton has a B.S.B.A. from Georgetown University, studied under the Oxford Center for Management Studies, and holds an MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business.