Center Staff
Ali Emdad, PhD
Associate Dean, Graves Business School
FinTech Center Director
Biography
Dr. Ali Emdad is the Associate Dean of the Graves School of Business and Management at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. He oversees all daily operations in the Graves School and assists the Dean in setting the vision and strategic priorities for the School. He is the founding Director of the Center for the Study of Blockchain and Financial Technology (The FinTech Center) where he manages a multi-year, multi-million dollar grant received from Ripple in February 2019. Previously, he served as the founding Chair of the Department of Information Science and Systems in the Graves School where he holds the Full Professor rank. Dr. Emdad provided leadership for the department’s growth and addition of new programs including the B.S. in Supply Chain Management; Master of Science in Project Management; Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Project Management, both online and on campus; and the Information Systems Track in the Ph.D. Program in Business Administration.
Dr. Emdad has more than forty publications in various areas of IT. He focuses on FinTech related technologies including cryptoassets and blockchain program development and adoption models integrating design thinking and agile methodologies. He has shepherded the growth of the Graves School’s Capital Markets Lab. An experienced educator, Dr. Emdad has a thorough knowledge of the AACSB International accreditation standards and processes. Prior to joining academia, Emdad served as an IT specialist at Kennecott Corporation. He has established strong partnerships with corporations and government agencies and has been instrumental in bringing in large grants to Morgan State University. Dr. Emdad has been awarded the Iva G. Jones Medallion, the highest honor the University bestows upon a faculty for outstanding teaching, research, and service. A 2007 Fulbright Fellow, Emdad holds a Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University and has completed executive management, leadership, and technical education programs at Harvard, Yale, and MIT.
Sanjay Bapna, PhD
Chairman, Department of Information Science and Systems
FinTech Center Associate Director
Biography
Professor Sanjay Bapna is Professor and Chair of the Department of Information Science and Systems. Prof. Bapna received a BTech. in Chemical Engineering in 1981 from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, an MBA. in 1987, and a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems in 1992 from The University of Iowa. He has received many honors including the prestigious 2011 Best Paper award, the 2009 Best paper award from the internationally recognized National Decision Sciences Institute, the 1994 best paper award from the International Association of Computer Information Systems. Prof. Bapna has also secured several grants from the Department of Transportation and is an authority on analytics and modeling, as well as Commercial Vehicle operations.
Judith Schnidman, MBA
FinTech Center Program Coordinator
Biography
Tyneissa Walters, CSM
FinTech Center Program Communications Coordinator
Biography
Tyneissa Walters is the Program Assistant of the Center for the Study of Blockchain and Financial Technology. She is a Certified Agile Scrum Master (CSM). Her background is in the field of agile project management and insurance sales. She specializes in project facilitation, graphic design, social media development and telemarketing.
Research Associates
Ganesh Bhatt, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Information Science and Systems
Biography
Ganesh Bhatt is professor in the Department of Information Science & Systems at Morgan State University, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate students. His research interests are in the areas of IS Strategy, evolution of human and organizational knowledge, and IS Competencies & firm advantages. His publications have appeared in several journals and conference proceedings.
Dessa J. David, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Information Science and Systems
Biography
Dina El Mahdy, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Accounting
Biography
Dina El Mahdy is an associate professor of accounting at Morgan State University and received her Ph.D. in Accounting in 2011 from Virginia Commonwealth University. Her publications have appeared in the Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, International Journal of Accounting and Information Management, Journal of Accounting and Finance, and others. El Mahdy taught at Georgetown University, American University, and Virginia Commonwealth University. She is the recipient of competitive summer research grants from the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management from 2012-2016 & 2018. Her intellectual work was featured by Bloomberg, WalletHub, Columbia Law School, and Global Financial Markets Center at Duke Law School.
Mary K. Foster, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Business Administration
Biography
Mary K. Foster, PhD, MBA, is an Associate Professor at Morgan State University. She earned a BS from the University of Maryland, a MS from Johns Hopkins University, a MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and her PhD from Morgan State University. Her research interests are team and organizational effectiveness, particularly in healthcare, educational, and innovation settings and the scholarship of teaching and learning. Her research has been published in Small Group Research, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, SAGE Research Methods Cases, Case Research Journal, The CASE Journal, and the Journal of Critical Incidents (best paper award). Before becoming an educator, she was an accomplished business executive who held executive positions at Sylvan Learning, Inc., Riverside Corporation, Mars, Inc., and General Electric. Her areas of expertise and experience in the corporate world, including strategy, marketing, and innovation.
Mary Ann Hoppa, PhD
Associate Professor (Norfolk State University)
Department of Computer Science & Cybersecurity
Biography
Dr. Hoppa is a co-Principle investigator in NSU’s Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (funded by DoD); and a researcher within NSU’s Information Assurance Research and Education Development Institute (IA-REDI). She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in computer science and cybersecurity, and she is the Assessment Coordinator for the department. In addition to academic degrees, Dr. Hoppa holds certifications in diverse disciplines including business, electronic commerce and distance education.
Golshan Javadian, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Business Administration
Biography
Dr. Javadian is an Assistant Professor at Morgan State University and the associate editor at New England Journal of Entrepreneurship. She has a Ph.D. in Business Administration and her research interests include Gender and Diversity in Entrepreneurship and Psychology of Entrepreneurship. Golshan’s research has been published in several peer reviewed journals including Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Journal, and Women in Management Journal. She has received several honors including the prestigious best paper award from the Academy of Management and has secured grants including the award from Consortium for Minority-serving Institutions and Community Colleges (CMCC).
Eric Sakk, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Computer Science
Biography
Dr. Eric Sakk is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Morgan State University. His background is in the field of dynamical systems, machine learning, signal processing, computational algorithms and bioinformatics. Dr. Sakk received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering with a minor in applied mathematics from Cornell University. Most recently, he has been researching algorithms and architectures for financial markets, financial technology and blockchain applications.
Monica Sharif, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Business Administration
Biography
Dr. Monica Sharif is an Assistant Professor of Management and Business Strategy in the Earl G. Graves School of Business & Management at Morgan State University. Prior to this position, she spent 3 years as an assistant professor of management at San Francisco State University. Monica’s research focuses on organizational behavior specifically leadership, cross-cultural diversity, ethics and organizational change. She has published in top journals including The Leadership Quarterly and Journal of Business Ethics. She received her Ph.D. in Business Administration, Management from University of Miami, School of Business Administration.
Ziping Wang, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Information Science & Systems
Biography
Prof. Ziping Wang is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Information Science & Systems. Prof. Wang received bachelor and master degrees in Operations Research at Nanjing University and a Ph.D. in Operations Management at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She teaches courses in Operations Management, Project Management, Supply Chain Management, and Quality Management. Her research work has been published in the areas of Global supply chain management, E-commerce, Blockchain, Network Security, Port Logistics, Risk Management, and Inventory Management.
Curriculum Development Associates
William Bennett
Associate Professor
Department of Computer Science
Biography
The Department Head and Associate Professor of Computer Science at Bluefield State College in West Virginia, USA. William J. Bennett has worked in the Technology field for over 20 years, working in Colleges and Universities in Canada, the USA and Russia. Currently along with his role as faculty at Bluefield State College, he is working with Quality Matters in the review and improvement of online courses in higher education.
Harpal Grewal
Associate Professor
Department of Economics and Finance
Biography
Dr. Harpal Grewal teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in finance, economics, quantitative methods, leadership development, and business ethics. Dr. Grewal authored/co-authored about thirty articles and reports, edited one book, and reviewed four books. He currently serves on the Editorial Boards of three journals.
Jose Noguera
Associate Professor
Department of Management and Marketing
Biography
Dr. Jose Noguera is a professor and chair in the Department of Management and Marketing at Southern University A&M College. He has over twenty years of Enterprise Resource Planning/Supply Chain curriculum development experience and over three years of database-statistical/analytics consulting and SAP R/3 systems implementation. His research interests are in supply chain management and innovation, enterprise information systems (ERP), entrepreneurship education, simulation modeling and optimization, adoption and diffusion of innovation, and end-user computing. He is active in Supply Chain and IS/ERP systems and decision sciences communities.
Kevin Tennon
Associate Professor
Department of Accounting
Biography
Kevin Tennon, graduate from Central State University with dual degrees in accounting and finance. Dr. Tennon received his MBA from Central Michigan University. Currently teaching business, accounting, and finance courses at the graduate and undergraduate level. While serving in the position of IT Financial Manager for LexisNexis Networks Services department for 10 years, Tennon was responsible for managing the global infrastructure budget, which had an annual expense in excess of $40.5 million. “This [Blockchain] new topology or infrastructure will make a demonstrative impact on businesses and their transactions. I want to be a part of the facilitation of this new information.”
Sung No
Associate Professor
Department of Accounting, Economics, and Finance
Biography
Dr. Sung C. No holds W.E. “Bill” Tucker Endowed Professorship and runs the 21Centry Financial Analysis and Security Trading Lab. He teaches managerial economics, managerial finance, entrepreneurial finance, international finance, and business analytics. He strives to fulfil the mission of AACSB International: Engagement, Innovation, and Impact at Southern University and A&M College. He engages in numerous outreach and workforce developments across the State of Louisiana, initiates innovative ideas and publications, and makes a positive impact on the Southern University EDA University Center’s stakeholders. He was a recipient of Teacher of the Year at College of Business from 2005 to 2009 in a row, the Chancellor’s Teacher of the Year 2014 and the System President’s Teacher of the Year in 2014.
Levi “Christian” Pearson
Visiting Professor
Department of Business Administration and Finance
Biography
Levi “Christian” Pearson is a visiting professor at Stillman College with over 12 years of experience helping commercial, public sector, and non-profit organizations maximize their potential while minimizing risk. Christian started his career as an intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army where he received the Bronze Star and has held business and legal roles at Accenture, Google, and Procter and Gamble. Christian currently works at Aptible where he advises startups on information security and data privacy. Christian’s research interests include blockchain technology, digital marketing, information security & privacy, constitutional law, and economic history.
Manuel Garcia IV
Assistant Professor
Department of Management
Biography
Manuel Garcia IV earned his Bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State University and both his Masters and Ph.D. from Jackson State University. Currently, he is an assistant professor of Management at Claflin University. He teaches a wide range of Management and Business courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level. These courses include Management Information Systems, International Business, Organizational Theory and Behavior, Leadership, Strategy, Labor Relations, and Human Resource Management. Dr. Garcia has presented at numerous conferences and has had several publications as book chapters and journal articles.
Bo Yang
Associate Professor
Department of Computer Science
Biography
Dr. Bo Yang is a Professor of the Department of Computer Science at Bowie State University. His research interests focus on Cybersecurity, Data Privacy and Reliability, Big Data, IoT Edge Computing, Natural Language Processing, and Machine Learning. He has published over 50 journal and conference papers, including ACM/IEEE Transactions and a Best Paper Award of IEEE Conference, and received the Outstanding Journal Publications Award from BSU. He led the designation and served as the Director of Bowie State’s NSA/DHS National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (2015-2020). His research has been supported by grants from NASA, NSF, and DOD.
Andrea Calloway
Lecturer
Department of Business
Biography
Prof. Andrea S. Calloway is a lecturer in the Management Information Systems Department of the College of Business at Bowie State University, where she also serves as the Undergraduate Program Coordinator and Assessment Coordinator. She is a participant in the NSF grant-funded Data Science and Analytics university-wide initiative and is a Morgan State University HBCU Blockchain Champion.
Prof. Calloway received her BBA in MIS and MS in MIS from Pace University in New York, where she also taught in the CSIS Department for twenty years. Her areas of research include robotics, service-learning and systems analysis and design.
Brandis Phillips
Associate Professor
Department of Accounting and Finance
Biography
Dr. Brandis Phillips is an associate professor of accounting at North Carolina A & T State University. His primary areas of research are digital literacy and technology addiction. He previously held IT consulting positions at Andersen Consulting and PricewaterhouseCoopers, primarily engaged in SAP and COBOL programming. He has held audit positions at Verizon Wireless, Sears and National Futures Association (auditor of commodities brokers). He holds an accounting undergraduate degree and PhD in MIS both from Michigan State University and has an MBA from the University of Iowa. He is a licensed CPA.
Biruk Alemayehu
Associate Professor
Department of Business and Public Administration
Biography
Dr. Alemayehu is an Associate professor in the College of Business and Public Administration at Southern University in New Orleans. Her background includes a Ph.D. in Public Policy with a concentration in public finance, a Master of Professional Accountancy from Southern University A&M, and an Engineering Degree in Agricultural Economics and Management from Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic. She is a 2013-2014 Melon Foundation Fellow for the Faculty Communities of Teaching Scholars (FACTS). Her teaching and research area is Management of Municipal Services, Government Budgeting, and Public Policy. She is fluent in Amharic, English, Portuguese, Czech, and Spanish.
Deok Nam
Associate Professor
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Biography
Deok Hee Nam, Ph. D, is Professor of Computer Science and Computer Engineering at Wilberforce University, Wilberforce, Ohio. His current research interests include the areas of mobile computing in cognitive radio networks, wireless sensor networks, and statistical data mining in soft-computing.
Joanne Luciano
Associate Professor
Department of Computer Science
Biography
Dr. Joanne Sylvia Luciano, Distinguished Professor of Data Science, University of the Virgin Islands (UVI). Dr. Luciano leads the new Data Science and Analytics initiative at UVI. The initiative is a collaborative effort across the university and the territory to provide a program that uniquely meets the needs of the Territory by establishing pathways for students to further their pursuits in academic research, industry, or government at the local, national, or global level. Dr. Luciano is recognized internationally for her contributions in Semantic Web technology applications in the life sciences and for founding the field of Health Web Science.