The Team
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Dr. Maria Ballesteros-Sola, DBA, MBA
Associate Professor of Management (Early Tenure) at the MVS School of Business & Economics at California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI) in Camarillo, CA (USA). She received my DBA from IE Business School (July 2017), MBA from the Graduate School of Management at Boston University, and Law Degree (with a minor in Business, E-1) from Universidad Pontificia Comillas-ICADE in Madrid (Spain).
She is a proud 🇪🇸Spanish Fulbright Scholar (1998-2000), 🇺🇸 Paul R. Lawrence Fellow (2016), and 🇺🇸 B Academics Founding Board Member (2019). She also serve on 🇬🇧The Case Center’s Board of Trustees, the 🇺🇸 Case Research Foundation’s Board, and Women’s Economic Ventures’ Board, and since 2025, she is serving again as B Academics’ Board Member and Chair of Membership Committee.
She became the fourth ESBI Director in the fall of 2024. -
Margarit Arabajyan
Margarit is an international student from Armenia pursuing her Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) at CSU Channel Islands. She serves as Vice President of the Entrepreneurship Club and has 5 years of marketing experience. She also provides business consulting services and is the founder of her own EdTech startup.
“I’m very excited to begin my position with ESBI, contribute my marketing and business experience, and support local entrepreneurs and our community.”
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Evalaine Peterson
Evalaine Peterson, originally from Aruba, came to California as an international student to continue her educational journey. After earning her bachelor’s degree in business administration, she plans to return home and use the knowledge and skills she has gained to launch her own hydroponic farm. Her business idea is inspired by Aruba’s heavy reliance on imported food. By establishing a large-scale hydroponic farm, she hopes to reduce that dependence, strengthen the island’s security, and create a more sustainable source of fresh, locally grown produce.
Affiliated Faculty
We have tenure-track faculty and a distinguished team of lecturers supporting our efforts.
- Dr. Ekin Pehlivan
- Dr. Minder Chen
- Dr. Michael Seay
- Dr. Ray Bowman
- Dr. Dale Deardorff
- Prof. Alan Jaeger