
Lori Dars, MBA, is the Associate Director of Economic Development & Innovation at Rutgers University and the Regional Instructor Trainer of the Northeast I-Corps Hub. Lori is passionate about helping innovators take the first or next steps in their commercialization journey. She joins the Northeast Region Hub as the former Director of the Rutgers I-Corps Site Program, where she led the development of the program from recruitment through post-program follow-up. Lori co-developed the I-Corps Fellowship program for underrepresented students to join I-Corps teams to nurture their interest in innovation and gain skills.
Lori is also a Senior Adviser for Rutgers Masters in Business and Science Externship Program (an experiential learning initiative for 150+ undergraduate and graduate students per semester); where she manages projects and recruits organizational partners to the program. She serves on a number of committees of the New Jersey Big Data Alliance and is the founder and leader of Rutgers-wide Entrepreneurship Coalition, created to foster a community of innovation and grow the entrepreneurship ecosystem at the university. Previously, Lori worked in the New Ventures & Entrepreneurship group in Rutgers Technology Transfer Office, assisting start-up ventures formed from Rutgers Technologies. Prior to coming to Rutgers, Lori held numerous positions in business development and marketing.
She has a bachelor’s degree in Communication from the University of Delaware and a Master of Business Administration degree from Rutgers.