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Meet Our MBA Faculty


A portrait of David Bechtold.

David Bechtold

Course(s) taught: MBA 5520
David Bechtold is an Associate Professor at MSU Denver. He has over 25 years of business experience as an entrepreneur and as part of executive management teams for non-profit and for-profit organizations. At MSU Denver he teaches courses both at the undergraduate (International Business, Sustainability and Strategic Management) and graduate (Global Enterprise Management) level. David’s research centers on sustainability and sustainable business strategies.
A portrait of Greg Black holding a fish.

Gregory S. Black

Course(s) taught: MBA 5605
Gregory S. Black received is Ph.D. in Business Administration, Marketing from Washington State University & has been a professor for over 20 years. He conducts research on marketing education & incorporates what he discovers in his classes. He recently served as the President of the Marketing Educators' Association & is still on the Board of Directors. He serves on the Editorial Review Board for several academic journals & has helped the Boy Scouts of America revise their merit badge booklets.
A portrait of Jacob Cho.

Jacob Cho

Course(s) taught: MBA 5510
Dr. Cho has a vast range of academic & industrial experience with manufacturing & service operations internationally. He worked in South Korea's biotechnology industry for over 11 years then moved to Canada to study business & teach. In the US, he teaches operations & organizational management. Dr. Cho has published research on e-service management with topics such as e-service classification, resources, quality in academic journals. He received his Ph.D. at the University of Western Ontario.
A portrait of Alex Fayman.

Alex Fayman

Course(s) taught: MBA 5405 & MBA 5480
Dr. Fayman is an assistant professor in the Department of Finance. His areas of expertise include financial markets & institutions, corporate finance and consumer finance. His research has been published in The Banking and Finance Review, Journal of Economic & Social Policy, Journal of Global Business, Journal of Business Finance, Accounting and Managerial Finance. He received his Ph.D. and MBA in Finance, both from Southern Illinois University Carbondale & a B.S. in biology from Knox College.
A photo of Michael Goodman.

Michael Goodman

Course(s) taught: MBA 5505
Dr. Goodman has worked as an attorney practicing business & corporate law. He has had his own practice since 2012, which includes reviewing & drafting agreements pertaining to formation of business entities, employment, confidentiality, non-disclosure/non-competition, & franchise agreements. In addition to practicing law, he has been an affiliate MSU Denver instructor (Legal Environment of Business) since 2001. To maintain his law license, he attends continuing education courses.

Wossen Kassaye

Course(s) taught: MBA 5680
Dr. Kassaye received a Ph.D. in Business Administration, emphasis in consumer behavior & multivariate statistics in 1980. He is a full professor & has been with the College of Business since 1997. His research interests include evolutionary strategic marketing management orientation, internet advertising strategies, haggling motives, & media habits of Gen-X & Gen-Y. Dr. Kassaye is active in student learning goals assessment activities. He received the ANBAR Citation for Excellence Award.
A portrait of Viktor Kiss.

Viktor Kiss

Course(s) taught: MBA 5220
Viktor Kiss primarily teaches quantitative courses, ranging from Business Statistics through Operations Research to more advanced Data Mining courses. He lectures on both the BS and MBA level. He publishes in the area of modelling complex systems. Viktor has a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Pécs and a Master’s degree in Finance and a B.B.A. degree from Middlesex University in collaboration with the University of Pécs.
A portrait of Elizabeth McVicker.

Dr. Elizabeth McVicker

Course(s) taught: MBA 5505
Elizabeth teaches law and ethics classes for the College of Business. She earned her J.D. from University of Denver and a Ph.D in Spanish Language & Literature from New York University. As a business owner & attorney, she is able to bring experience and current scholarly insight to the classroom. Elizabeth is active with the One World One Water Center and the Water Studies Curriculum.
A portrait of Alex Padilla.

Alexandre Padilla

Course(s) taught: MBA 5305
Dr. Padilla earned in BS, MA, & Doctorate in Economics at the University of Law, Economics, and Science of Aix-Marseille III in France. His teaching interests are microeconomic theory, law & economics, public choice, applied economic policy, and his research interests are in the field of law & economics, the political economy of immigration, and the political economy of populism. Dr. Padilla is also the director of the Exploring Economic Freedom Project.
A portrait of Norm Pence.

Norman Pence

Course(s) taught: MBA 5210
Norman Pence earned a Ph.D. in Mineral Economics (Management Science/Operations Research/Statistics) from Colorado School of Mines in 1986. He is in his 44th year of teaching at the MSU Denver & has taught quantitative courses for most of his tenure. He has also engaged in consulting work for the following organizations: Coors Porcelain Company, United States Geological Survey-Branch of Oil and Gas, United States Air Force Accounting and Finance Center, WPX Energy, and Microseismic.
A portrait of Mark Segall.

Mark Segall

Course(s) taught: MBA 5230
Dr. Segall holds a B.S. in Chemistry (Purdue), an M.S. in Information Systems (UC Denver), and a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology (Temple University), emphasis in statistics. Prior to joining MSU Denver, he worked as a software engineer. Over the past 5 years, Dr. Segall has developed 2 courses: Data Warehouse and an Advanced Programming seminar covering various topics: programming for PHP, Python, and Application development. He is active in Department, College, & University-wide committees.
A portrait of Sheri Betzer.

Sheri Betzer

Course(s) taught: MBA 5160
Sheri Betzer is a CPA and CFE from Denver, CO. Since receiving her B.S. in Accounting from Colorado Mesa University, she has become one of the foremost experts in fraud & forensic accounting. She regularly conducts continuing education courses for CPA's and attorneys while maintaining a practice that involves litigation support, fraud investigation, & financial consulting. Former clients include the US Dept. of Justice, the CO Dept. of Revenue, & public defender offices throughout CO, AZ, & WY.
A portrait of Joe Giordano.

Joe Giordano

Course(s) taught: MBA 5180
Joe has two Master's degrees from the University of Colorado Denver and is a PhD student at the University of Denver. He is a long time Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), holds a Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA), and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). His research interests are in auditing, internal auditing, cost accounting, and small business issues.
A portrait of William Mesa.

William Mesa

Course(s) taught: MBA 5110
Dr. Mesa received his Bachelors and Masters in Accounting from New Mexico State University and his Doctorate in Management at Colorado Technical University. His primary areas of teaching are in accounting, strategic analytics and ethics. Dr. Mesa is the principal and founder of Triangulation Group, LLC where he serves as a consultant for SMEs in the capacity of vision, strategy, and core values planning in conjunction with analytics.
A portrait of Letitia Pleis.

Letitia Pleis

Course(s) taught: MBA 5140
Dr. Pleis has a Ph.D. in Accounting. She is focused on Cost Accounting and is Certified in Strategy and Competitive Analysis. Current research interest involves cost management and strategy within small businesses. She is active within the profession focusing much of her time with the Institute of Management Accountants and is a great resource for students wanting to know more about the Certified Management Accountant certification.
A portrait of Salina Siddique.

Salina Siddique

Course(s) taught: MBA 5105
Professor Salina Siddique earned her Ph.D. in 2016 from Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia in 2016, where she taught for 10 years. She is from Melbourne, where she got her MS in Accounting in Central Queensland University. Dr. Siddique has published research in journals such as Business Strategy and the Environment, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, International Review of Business Research Papers, and Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal.
A portrait of Shawn Tebben.

Shawn Tebben

Course(s) taught: MBA 5190
Shawn has over 30+ years of accounting experience—PwC partner, VP of Internal Audit at two large global public companies, Managing Director at Protiviti, VP of Financial Aid Operations & owner of a consulting business. She brings experience in leadership, accounting & auditing, risk management, compliance, program management & process improvement to help students connect theory and concepts. As a lifelong learner, she is excited to bring real-world experiences to life for her students.

Shane Jackson

Course(s) taught: MBA 5205
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