About

Dr. Debora (Deb) K. Sepich is the Director of Graduate Business and Technology Programs at Doane University. She started teaching at Doane in 2018. She is an entrepreneur-turned-educator who has blurred the lines between the world of work and halls of education. In 1991, Dr. Sepich co-founded Dolphin Software, an environmental health and safety software company that largely focused on supporting hospitals and pharmaceuticals in a manner that creates profit while also protecting our planet. She is delighted to be marrying her years of applied business experience with online and classroom education.

Education
Ed.D. (Interdisciplinary Leadership), Creighton University, 2014
M.B.A. (Business Administration), George Fox University, 2000
B.A. (Management & Organizational Leadership), George Fox University, 1996

Courses

• Introduction to Leadership Studies (LDR 101)
• International Business and Economics (BUS 601)
• Leadership in Political, Social, and Economic Contexts (BUS 609)

Professional Experience
Chair of the Graduate Business Department, 2019-Present
Director, Graduate Business and Technology, Doane University, 2018-2019
Director, Dunklau School of Business, Midland University, 2017-2018
Dean, Vucurevich School of Business, University of Sioux Falls, 2015-2017
MBA Director, George Fox University, 2005-2008
Co-Founder, CMO, COO, VP, Dolphin Software, 1991-2005

Teaching Experience
Doane University, 2018-Present
Trinity Western University, 2008-Present
Tianjin University, 2014
University of Portland, 2008-2010
George Fox University, 2005-2015

Professional Accolades
Advanced Design Thinking Certification, IDEO U, 2020
Entrepreneurial Mindset Practitioner Certification, Eckert College, 2019
USASBE Social Entrepreneurship Certification, Kaufmann Foundation, 2016

Professional Highlights

• Executive Board Member, Ollie Web Center
• Board of Directors, Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative
• Committee Chair Senior Recognition, Rotary International
• Reviewer for Journal of Biblical Integration in Business (2012-Present)
• Reviewer for USASBE, Social Entrepreneurship (2011-Present)
• Sepich, D. (2015). "Female social entrepreneurs: Self-efficacy and epiphanies.” USASBE Presentation and Conference Proceedings.
• Sepich, D. (2014). “Active Learning, Idea Generation, and Implementation.” MMA Fall Conference.
• Sepich, D. (2014). Resiliency through connectedness: Connections female social entrepreneurs develop to reduce stress: A narrative inquiry (Doctoral dissertation).
• Sepich, D. (2013). Cultivating relationships produces a three-way harvest” Oregon Wine Industry & Experiential Learning. MEA Spring Conference.
• Sepich, D. (2012). “Integrating real world projects into classroom experience.” MEA Spring Conference.

Getting To Know Your Professors

Why did you become an instructor? How did you become interested in teaching?

If you had asked me as a child what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said I wanted to be a firefighter. How does that translate into where I am today? Well, they wouldn’t at that time let me dawn the beautiful “turn-out’s” my father and uncles wore so proudly. However, my father also had another job. He was an engineer and inventor. He was a genius really, and to this little girl he was my world. He was the consummate volunteer and spent his time teaching first aid classes, defensive-driving courses, and introduction to engineering courses; he was a teacher. While I didn’t start out as a teacher in my career, I did take his path in life and started out as an entrepreneur, creating businesses and then, started teaching people what I learned. So, I became an instructor to be more like my father. The man who was my world as a little girl and today is still, though he has since passed away, a man I admire for his brilliance and his heart for service.

What is one of your favorite quotes and why?

One of my favorite quotes is ‘treat people the way they want to be treated, not the way you want to be treated.” I like this quote because it requires us to see others as they are, not as we are.

How can I get to know you better? How do you engage with students outside the classroom?

Email me, phone me, text me, let’s chat. I am available to discuss your course work and also your job opportunities in the future. If you are considering starting your own business, you are the kind of person that will likely sit down with me and have a conversation over a long lunch or coffee, and we will get along very well. I am very innovative and thrive on discussions about possibilities.