Loyola’s Wendy Bolger named Technical.ly’s 2024 Educator of the Year
Wendy Bolger, founding director of Loyola University Maryland’s Simon Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, was named 2024 Educator of the Year by Technical.ly Baltimore, a news website that covers innovation and entrepreneu
"Wendy Bolger has long been recognized in multiple forums in Loyola’s home city as well as nationally as a force in community entrepreneurship cultivation and catalyzing student engagement," said Mary Ann Scully, MBA ’79, dean of Loyola’s Sellinger School of Business and Management. "She is impacting underrepresented entrepreneurs and emerging student entrepreneurs in a way that fulfills the University’s goal of changing the trajectory of lives.”
Bolger was selected by a survey of Technical.ly readers who recognized her as making “the greatest strides in helping people or companies in your area become more knowledgeable and aware,” according to the website. Technical.ly called Bolger “a longtime ecosystem leader” who “remains a pivotal player and teacher for local ventures.”
Loyola established the Simon Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship in 2018 and named Bolger the inaugural director. She launched the Baltipreneurs Accelerator, a four-month part-time program supporting startup businesses and social ventures with training, technical assistance, mentorship, networking, and access to capital.
In 2021, under Bolger’s leadership, the Simon Center established the Loyola Angels Fund to provide students with angel investment knowledge and experience and support local under-resourced entrepreneurs, especially Baltimore-based minority- and women-owned businesses. The accompanying class, Applied Angel Investing, received the Excellence in Entrepreneurship Teaching and Pedagogical Innovation award from the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers this year.
Prior to joining Loyola, Bolger worked as director of corporate and individual relations for Mercy Corps, the global humanitarian organization, and most recently as director for program innovation strategy for Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign, where she piloted solutions in Baltimore public schools. Bolger earned her bachelor’s degree in comparative literature from Smith College and her MBA from the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia.
Loyola University Maryland’s Sellinger School of Business and Management in Baltimore delivers an internationally recognized Jesuit business education. Recognized for its scholarship, ethical leadership, and tradition of excellence, the Sellinger School delivers a wide range of sought-after fields of study including nine undergraduate majors and 12 undergraduate minors as well as full-time, part-time, and fully online MBA and Master of Accounting programs.