Eric Hansen began working in Russia in 1992.  In 2002, he helped launch the Center for Entrepreneurship, where he is responsible for programming.  He is leading the Center's efforts to fuel the development of sustainable metro-based entrepreneurial eco-systems in Russian cities by identifying and developing local leadership teams and providing them access to programming that engages various stakeholders, including Global Entrepreneurship Week, Startup Huddle, training programs for university faculty in entrepreneurship teaching methodologies; and the 9-month ScaleUp acceleration program for high potential entrepreneurs, which combines 10 formal training sessions, 2 meetings monthly with a mentor, and 4 networking events that bring together various community stakeholders to discuss topics vital to growing a business. Eric serves on the Board of Directors of the Russian Association of Entrepreneurship Education.  Fluent in Russian, he earned his MBA in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, and his BA in Central and Eastern European Studies from the University of Colorado, Boulder.