Officers and Board
President
Raj Mahto, University of New Mexico
rmahto@unm.edu
Raj V. Mahto is a Professor of entrepreneurship and Creative Enterprise Endowed Professor in the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico. He is also Department Chair of Finance and Innovation Department in the school. His research has been published in top academic journals such as Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Small Business Management, and Family Business Review, etc. Raj serves on editorial review boards of Family Business Review and International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal. He is also an associate editor of the Journal of Small Business Strategy, Technological Forecasting & Social Change, and Journal of Small Business Management
Scott Cox, Georgia College & State University
scott.cox@gcsu.edu
Dr. Scott R. Cox is an Associate Professor of Logistics in the College of Business and Technology at Georgia College & State University teaching courses in operations management and supply chain management at both the graduate and undergraduate level. He also serves as the Coordinator of the Master of Logistics and Supply Chain Management program. His research focuses on small business and supply chain management, along with the student evaluation of teaching. Dr. Cox holds a PhD in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from Georgia Southern University.
Treasurer
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Joshua Aaron, Middle Tennessee State University
Joshua R. Aaron is an Associate Professor at Middle Tennessee State University. Dr. Aaron has published work in Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business & Entrepreneurship, Corporate Reputation Review and Journal of Management Education among other journals. He has presented at Academy of Management, Southern Management Association and Babson Entrepreneurship Research Conference. Dr. Aaron holds a PhD in Strategic Management, an MBA in Strategic Management and a BS degree in Accounting, all from the University of Alabama. In addition to the SBI board, he serves as the President of the Board of Governors at Ironwood Country Club and on the Board of Directors of the Rachel Lynn Smith Foundation. Prior to academia, Dr. Aaron was an auditor at Ernst and Young, LLP in Birmingham, AL.
Secretary
Mariah Yates, Western Kentucky University
Dr. Mariah Yates is an Associate Professor in the Gordon Ford College of Business at Western Kentucky University, where she teaches courses in leadership, organizational behavior, business ethics, and critical thinking. Her research focuses on corporate social responsibility, authenticity, equity, and the intersection of popular culture and leadership. Her work has been published in journals such as the Entrepreneurs & Innovation Exchange, Industrial & Organizational Psychology, Global Journal of Management and Marketing, and Journal of Small Business Strategy, and she serves on the editorial boards of the latter two. She is the co-author of Swift Leadership: A Taylor-made Approach to Influence and Decision Making (Emerald Publishing, 2025). Dr. Yates earned her PhD in Business Administration from the University of Cincinnati and her MBA and BA from WKU.
Vice President of Programs
Steve Childers, Radford University
jchilders2@radford.edu
J. Stephen Childers, Jr., Ph.D., is a Professor of Management in the Davis College of Business and Economics at Radford University. With a research stream focused on the sustainable growth of firms, Dr. Childers has contributed to leading academic journals, including the Small Business Institute Journal, Journal of Small Business Strategy, Group & Organization Management, Journal of Organizational Change Management, and the Journal of Management Education. His scholarship has been recognized with the prestigious RU Dalton Eminent Scholar Award. Before joining Radford University, Dr. Childers was the Director of the Small Business Institute program at East Carolina University and he earned his PhD. in Strategic Studies from Virginia Tech.
Vice President of Programs - Elect
Sara MacSween, UNC Greensboro
sbmacswe@uncg.edu
Vice President of Marketing and Membership
Timothy Dunne, Boise State University
timothydunne@boisestate.edu
Dr. Timothy C. Dunne is an assistant professor of management at Boise State University. He has extensive experience teaching leadership and conflict management at the undergraduate, graduate, as well executive levels. Dr. Dunne’s research focuses on leadership and negotiation, with an emphasis on entrepreneurship and small businesses. His work has been published in numerous academic journals including Group and Organization Management, Conflict Resolution Quarterly, and Group Decision and Negotiation. Timothy holds a PhD in Management, an MBA, and a BA in Business Administration all from the University of Missouri.
Vice President of Research & Publications
Phil Harris, University of Arkansas Little Rock
pwharris@ualr.edu
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Whitney Peake, Western Kentucky University
whitney.peake@wku.edu
Dr. Whitney Peake is the Vitale Professor of Entrepreneurship, Department Chair, and Professor of Management. She researches and teaches in the areas of entrepreneurship, small business management, and family business management, and has approximately 30 peer reviewed articles published in and accepted to such outlets as Journal of Business Research, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Business Ethics, and Journal of Small Business Management. Whitney is an associate editor for the Journal of Small Business Strategy, and on the editorial review boards for the Small Business Institute Journal and Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy. Dr. Peake holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University.
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