About

I am an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship & Strategy at Towson University’s College of Business & Economics. Prior to joining Towson, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Entrepreneurship at the Center for Free Enterprise and the Department of Management & Entrepreneurship at the University of Louisville (UofL).

I earned my PhD in Entrepreneurship & Emerging Enterprises (Business Administration) from the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University in 2022, where my training emphasized both rigorous research and high-quality instruction.

My research focuses on how environments shape venture creation, scaling, innovation, and strategic behavior. The unifying question across my work is straightforward: why do similar individuals and organizations behave differently when facing the same opportunities? I examine how ecosystem support, institutional contexts, community resources, governance mechanisms, and individual perceptions interact to influence entrepreneurial action and performance. Across projects on academic and high-tech entrepreneurship, university entrepreneurial ecosystems, sustainability strategies, and policy-driven contexts, my work is tied together by a core interest in how environmental supports and constraints shape strategic choices and real outcomes.

I have received recognition for both research and teaching. My scholarship has been supported by awards from the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) and Towson University’s Faculty Development and Research Committee (FDRC), and has been selected as a finalist for a Best Paper Award at the Strategic Management Society (SMS). During my doctoral training, my work was featured as a Best Paper at the Academy of Management Conference (2020), received a dissertation fellowship from Syracuse University’s Graduate School (2022), a scholarship from the Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (2019), and the Doctoral Prize from the Whitman School of Management (2023).

Fun fact: Hooman in Persian means good-natured, benevolent, or good mind/soul, derived from ancient roots emphasizing good thoughts, good words, and good deeds—a meaning that quietly aligns with my interest in how people, not just structures, shape organizations and ecosystems.