Inside Scoop: Entrepreneurs Panel Discussion

Coordinated by the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship and co-sponsored by the Career Center.

Yared Amanual '23
Founder, Inspired Designed Solutions for You (IDS4YOU)
B.S., M.S., PhD, Mechanical Engineering, UMBC
Yared Amanuel is a Human Centered Design (HCD) practitioner who believes in removing barriers to attainment of happiness faced by all. Yared has been working to develop inspired designed solutions to meet the needs of individuals, companies and governments by creating a co-designing space to meet their needs. Yared's entrepreneurial journey commenced with a modest beginning—a single-person- operated street cafe in Washington DC during the early 1990s. Yared's professional trajectory has been marked by a diverse portfolio. He has successfully established and managed several ventures, spanning both for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Throughout his ventures, Yared remains anchored in his core values of gratitude and a deep-rooted commitment to the welfare of others. He seamlessly integrates these values into his endeavors, driving initiatives that not only contribute to business success but also strive toward social impact and the betterment of communities. In his talk he will discuss his three pillars of a successful business venture.

Stephanie Day ‘96
Owner, Event & Travel Planner
B.A., Psychology, UMBC
M.S., Science Management, UMGC
Stephanie Day began her career at UMBC in the Shriver Center and then in Alumni Relations planning fundraising events and managing committees. Always one for creating new programs in her roles, Stephanie soon learned that she loved the behind-the-scenes orchestration of an event. In the early 2000’s, Stephanie opened her event planning company motivated by the desire to balance family and work life, unveiling a passion for creating and managing social, corporate and nonprofit events. In 2014, Stephanie partnered with a storefront travel agency, expanding her company’s services to encompass travel planning and destination weddings. While her career did not follow the original path of clinical psychology, Stephanie applies those skills daily, guiding her clients through decisions and fostering collaborative relationships with both vendors and clients.

Kelvin Johnson ‘21
Chief Visionary Officer, For the Culture Games
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Drexel University
MPS, Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Leadership, UMBC
Kelvin Johnson has been on quite a journey going from his early years of gaming, to building events and commerce around both digital and live gaming, to creating and recently launching BUSINESSAIRE, a board
game about entrepreneurship and economic development. His goal is to positively impact society and he'll discuss why and how he focused on business built around Creativity, Technology, Innovation, Ingenuity and CULTURE. Kelvin teaches youth in Baltimore City about robotics and entrepreneurship, and he feel merging STEAM and Entrepreneurship Workshops with project-based learning helps the community as much as it helps him.