Dr. Joyce Elam

Executive Dean

Executive Dean Elam previously was an associate professor at the University of Texas and an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. She also was a Marvin Bower Fellow at the Harvard Business School during the1987-88 academic year.

Dr. Elam is a recognized expert in the strategic use of information technology, the management of the information services function, and the use of information technology to support both individual and group decision-making and learning. Her research has been published in journals such as Decision Sciences, Decision Support Systems, Information Systems Research, Operations Research, and MISQ. She is co-author of the book,Transforming the IS Organization, published by ICIT Press. She also has assumed a prominent role in the study of women in leadership and is responsible for an annual research study which surveys women-led businesses in Florida. She is a past associate editor for MIS Quarterly and Information Systems Research.

Dr. Elam is a frequent speaker on management information systems topics as well as women in leadership topics at national and international meetings. Dr. Elam has extensive experience in executive development programs and in consulting.

Dr. Elam serves on the board of Royal Neighbors of America, a fraternal benefit financial services organization, and on the board Baptist Health Outpatient Services. She also is a member of the corporate advisory board of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs. She is FIU’s representative on the Beacon Council, a local economic development agency, and is a Trustee of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce.

She was named the Academy of International Business Fellows’ International Dean of the Year (2007) and was the recipient of the 2007 Athena Award given by the Coral Gables Community Foundation. In 2003, she was selected as the International Business Woman of the Year by Women in International Trade.


Dr. Helen K. Simon, CFP®

Faculty Advisor

Dr. Helen K. Simon CFP®,  is a faculty member of Florida International University in Miami, where she teaches classes in financial management, risk management and international Investments. She received a Master of Business Administration in 1999, a Doctorate of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance in 2005 from Nova Southeastern University and the CFP® designation from The College for Financial Planning in 1994. She is also the president of Personal Business Management Services, LLC, located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Simon has resided in South Florida since 1974 and has nearly 20 years of professional experience in the financial services and investment field. 

Professional Activities

Besides being active in the academic community and the director of FIU's State Farm Financial Literacy Lab, Simon has been the president of Personal Business Management Services, LLC, an investment advisory firm in Fort Lauderdale, since 1998. She also serves on the Certified Financial Planner board of examiners as a content specialist, and is a member of the Financial Management Association and the Financial Planning association. Simon has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. She is actively involved in research in the areas of market prediction models, behavioral finance and financial planning. She has presented papers at a variety of professional conferences and has authored publications in the Journal of Financial Planning, the Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Education and the Business, Education & Technology Journal.


Shaun Hoyes

Associate Director


Katherine Grau

Lab Manager