Latino Entrepreneurship Expert Joins SCALEUP Research Team

SAN MARCOS, Texas — Dr. Marlene Orozco, former associate director of the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative, recently joined the Sustainable Cultivation and Advancement of Local Enterprises for Underserved Populations (SCALEUP) research team at Texas State University as a research fellow.

Dr. Orozco’s research background in entrepreneurship, sociology, and systems-level bias reduction will help the SCALEUP team achieve its goal of helping Hispanic-owned businesses overcome major systemic challenges they address as they grow.

Dr. Orozco has co-authored an academic volume, Advancing U.S. Latino Entrepreneurship (Purdue University Press, 2020); written academic publications in peer-reviewed journals such as Small Business Economics, Social Science Quarterly, and Qualitative Sociology; and authored several industry reports and research briefs. A well-recognized scholar, Dr. Orozco’s research has been featured in over 100 media outlets — including Bloomberg, Forbes, and MarketWatch — and she has been named Silicon Valley Business Journal’s “40 Under 40: Top Young Professionals.”

In addition to her academic achievements, she has served as associate director of the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative, as associate director of entrepreneurship research at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and as a leader of Global Policy Research at Meta. Dr. Orozco also founded Stratified Insights, LLC, a research consulting firm. Her experience in research consulting and her ability to bridge the gap between academia and real-world applications will enhance the positive impact of SCALEUP’s work.

To learn more about the SCALEUP initiative, please visit scaleup.txst.edu.

For more information, email Twister Marquiss, manager of marketing and communications for the McCoy College of Business, at twister@txstate.edu.

About the McCoy College of Business  
Established in 1970, Texas State University’s business school officially became the McCoy College of Business in 2004 following a donation of $20 million by Emmett and Miriam McCoy. The college, which offers classes in both San Marcos and Round Rock, is accredited by AACSB in both business and accounting, and has graduated more than 43,000 alumni.