Leadership
Paul Benedict
Director, Center for Entrepreneurship
Associate Professor of Instruction
CoLab, Alden Library 301
740-707-1303
benedict@ohio.edu
Paul Benedict is the director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and an Associate Professor of Instruction in Management. After 15 years as an investor in and operator of seed- and early-stage technology companies, Paul joined Ohio University to teach in the Professional MBA, where he fell in love with teaching.
At the undergraduate level, Paul teaches Management in Cluster, Business Plan Design, Technology Commercialization, Ideation & Business Models and has been the site director of GCP Nicaragua. At the graduate level, Paul teaches Ideation & Business Models, New Venture Planning, and the MBA Capstone course.
Paul is the 2020 recipient of the College of Business’s Teaching Excellence award, a 2019 recipient of both an “Outstanding Mentor” honor from the Cutler Scholars program and an “Outstanding Teaching Mentor” honor from the Management Department, and a 2018 recipient of the College of Business’s “Graduate Teaching Award.”
Paul earned his BA in political science from the Honors Tutorial College at THE Ohio University. He earned his MBA from the Fisher College of Business at an Ohio State University. 😉😸
Paul and his wife, Heather, are always proud and occasionally exhausted parents to Sam (13), George (12), and 2 dogs – Loki, and Maggie. The Benedicts are a high-energy, competitive bunch. The family motto is: If you didn’t keep score, it didn’t happen. In his spare time, Paul is president of the Athens County Humane Society. He enjoys exercise, cookies (probably a little too much), guitar, and coffee – lots and lots of coffee. In fact, you can schedule a time to get coffee with Paul (or just meet in CoLab or on Zoom) by clicking the button above or HERE.
Krystal Geyer
Associate Director, Center for Entrepreneurship
CoLab, Alden Library 301
740-701-6872
krystal@ohio.edu
Krystal Geyer is the associate director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Ohio University.
She was previously the assistant director of the Entrepreneurship Center at Ball State. Prior to that, she spend several years standing up innovation and entrepreneurship programming for students from first years to post docs at Ohio State University. Her biggest priority and joy in life is helping students of all ages find their passions, create value, and succeed. She's an ENFJ, lover or animals and a big fan of glitter.
Liz Pahl
Assistant Director, Center for Entrepreneurship
CoLab, Alden Library 301
pahl@ohio.edu
Liz Pahl is the assistant director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Ohio University.
Liz has spent over 19 years in the event planning and leadership fields in the Southeast Ohio arts, higher education and non-profit communities. Stuart's Opera House and the Athens County Foundation are two non-profits where she has worked to build strong community relationships. Prior to joining the Center for Entrepreneurship, Liz served as Director of University Events, where she worked for eight years managing large scale events for Ohio University.
An accomplished musician, Liz has produced two studio albums and has fronted countless musical groups. She is also a passionate storyteller and entrepreneur in both audio and film. She has produced podcasts and radio stories with Ohio University's WOUB Public Media and West Virginia Public Broadcasting. In 2021, Liz produced a documentary film series Legacy: Women of Southeast Ohio, which was nominated for a Regional Emmy in June of 2022.
She earned her Bachelors in Communication and Masters in Public Administration from Ohio University. Liz lives in Athens with her husband Jason, two daughters, and their rescue dog, Max.