Linda Feltman

Linda Feltman accepted a faculty position with the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications in August 2018. Prior to becoming faculty, she worked with the Penn State SBDC as a business consultant for 19 years, during the last two of which she worked only with student entrepreneurs. Besides her Bellisario College teaching assignments, she is also the faculty associate for LionLaunch Pad, the Learning Living Option in Leete Hall that is for students interested in entrepreneurship, based in North Halls on campus and continues as the Faculty Advisor for Happy Valley Communications, the student run PR firm.

From 2009 to 2018, Linda coordinated Penn State's response to Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW). GEW is an international entrepreneurship event that takes place every year during November and now focuses more on community entrepreneurship than student. Linda has segued to helping with the annual Startup Week held each spring that focuses on student entrepreneurship opportunities on all campuses. She is also the coordinator for the Student Startup Showcase which is held each year in late April during the Invent Penn State Venture and IP Conference. Finally she is one of the mentors and pitch coaches that works with community and student teams involved with Happy Valley Launch Box.

Prior to joining the SBDC staff in 1999, over the course of 20 years, Linda was involved in several small business start-ups as a principal or owner. She has written a column for Pennsylvania Magazine since 1992, specializing in bed and breakfasts and profiles of interesting people and places, and is the author of several books related to same.

In 2005 she became an associate faculty member in the Bellisario College and continues to teach COMM 493 Entrepreneurship in the Information Age. Since 2009 she has been the faculty adviser for the Penn State student organization Happy Valley Communications, an award-winning student-run public relations firm that works with other student-run organizations as well as local small businesses with their publicity initiatives.

Linda was the recipient of the 2008–09 Bellisario College Deans’ Excellence Award for Outstanding Faculty Associate, the 2011 Outreach Vice President’s Award for Engagement and was selected by Pennsylvania Business Central as one of the top 100 Business People in 2014 as well as a Woman Making a Difference in 2015. She and her colleague, Michael Ryan with whom she co-taught Comm 493 from January 2012 to May 2018, also received the Bellisario College Deans' Excellence Award for Outstanding Faculty Affiliate in April 2016. Also, Linda was honored to be named as one of nine members of the 2016 Class of Distinguished Alumni of the College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

Linda is a 1976 graduate of Penn State, earning a bachelor’s degree with a major in advertising. Prior to that, she attended the University of Montreal (Canada) in 1973 and prior to that earned an Associate’s degree in business from the College of DuPage, in 1972. She studied abroad in 1976 attending the University of Manchester (England) through one of Penn State's first ever study abroad programs then sponsored by the School of Journalism. Although she enjoys living in her adopted state of Pennsylvania, she occasionally visits the Chicago suburb where she grew up to reconnect with family and friends and tries to visit Seattle, Washington once a year to visit a past professor and family. She is an avid reader , organic gardener and when time permits, attends Scottish Highland games and Celtic Festivals, especially if they are near Pittsburgh where her adult children reside.