Biosketch
Cintya Gajardo-Vejar is a Ph.D. candidate in Business Administration with a concentration in Entrepreneurship at the Manning School of Business, University of Massachusetts Lowell. Her research examines how language shapes entrepreneurial outcomes, with a particular focus on how mentor communication influences entrepreneurial self-efficacy through psychological distance and gender dynamics.
Cintya’s work has been presented at leading conferences, including the Academy of Management (AOM), the Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BCERC), and the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE), where she received the Best New Scholar Paper Award. Her research has also been published in Academy of Management Proceedings and contributes to ongoing conversations on entrepreneurial cognition, mentorship and inclusion.
In addition to her research, Cintya is an adjunct faculty member at UMass Lowell, where she teaches courses in entrepreneurship and marketing and has consistently received strong student evaluations. She is also actively engaged in experiential entrepreneurship education, teaching in accelerator programs such as Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll) and the Asian American Civic Association (AACA).
Before pursuing her Ph.D., Cintya founded and led Oleaje SpA, a research and development venture focused on sustainable aquaculture technologies, supported by patented innovation. Her professional experience spans industry, government, and academia, including roles in grant evaluation for Chile’s National Agency for Research and Development (ANID) and coaching entrepreneurial teams through initiatives such as the U.S. Army–supported Harnessing Emerging Research Opportunities to Empower Soldiers (HEROES) program.
Cintya is a Fulbright Scholar and has received multiple awards and competitive research grants for her work. She is also actively involved in academic service and leadership, serving as president and co-founder of the Graduate Research Society at UMass Lowell and contributing as a reviewer for leading academic conferences and journals.