LEAD Lab project group

Liguori Entrepreneurship Acceleration & Discovery

The LEAD Lab.

A place to investigate entrepreneurship, translate findings into practice, and develop the next generation of researchers.

Project 01 · Ukraine

Entrepreneurship during wartime Ukraine

How do entrepreneurs sustain their ventures and pursue recovery in wartime Ukraine?

Working with Florida State University’s Ukraine Task Force, the LEAD Lab explores the experiences of Ukrainian entrepreneurs and the challenges and opportunities that emerge during crisis. Student researchers contribute to a shared effort that connects research, public dialogue, and policy.

A presentation of the Ukraine entrepreneurship research poster
LEAD Lab researchers Joshua Selig and Faith Parkinson present their preliminary findings at the 2025 FSU Undergraduate Research Symposium.
A group from the Ukraine project holding a Ukrainian flag
Lead Lab Ukraine Research Team Project Kick Off Retreat

Presentations & publication

Real research.
Real outcomes.

LEAD Lab students produce research that reaches academic and global audiences.

  1. UN / ICSB MSME report

    Publication · “Entrepreneurship and Recovery in Ukraine: Lessons from Crisis” appeared in the annual global report. Read the contribution

  2. ICSB World Congress

    Washington, D.C. · The team presented “Entrepreneurship During Crisis: Resilience and Recovery in Ukraine.”

  3. Florida Undergraduate Research Conference

    Jacksonville, Florida · Students shared the research with a statewide undergraduate research audience.

  4. Morehouse Symposium on Social Justice and Social Entrepreneurship

    Atlanta, Georgia · The team brought the project into a broader conversation about entrepreneurship and social justice.

  5. FSU Undergraduate Research Symposium

    Tallahassee, Florida · Student researchers presented a poster on resilience and recovery in wartime Ukraine.

People behind the project

Ukraine student research team.

Ella Owens

LEAD Lab Research Assistant

Faith Parkinson

LEAD Lab Research Assistant

Joshua Selig

LEAD Lab Research Assistant

Michael Cedeno

LEAD Lab Research Assistant

Olivia Leichter

LEAD Lab Research Assistant

Zhen Siew

LEAD Lab Research Assistant

Project 02 · Building Florida · 2026–27

Student interviews underway

Building Florida:
Entrepreneurship, Family Business, and Economic Opportunity

Behind Florida’s businesses are families building livelihoods, creating opportunity, and deciding what comes next.

How do those families turn entrepreneurial ambition into lasting businesses—and what helps their firms, and their communities, thrive? Building Florida puts the experiences of family business owners and leaders at the center of these questions.

Led by Dr. Liguori and Dr. Juliana Binhote, the project combines statewide mapping with in-depth interviews to explore the challenges, decisions, and opportunities shaping family enterprise. Undergraduate researchers will help uncover patterns across these stories and translate them into insights for business owners, community partners, and policymakers.

The student research team is currently being selected through interviews. Team profiles will be added once the cohort is confirmed.

Project leadership

Dr. Eric LiguoriDr. Eric LiguoriPrincipal InvestigatorDr. Juliana BinhoteDr. Juliana BinhotePrincipal Investigator
Building Florida undergraduate research team, led by Principal Investigators Dr. Eric Liguori and Dr. Juliana Binhote.