Les R. Dlabay, EdD

Lake Forest College

Teaching about the “Forgotten Majority” (the more than 3 billion people living on $2 or less a day) is a priority of Les Dlabay, professor of business at Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Illinois. He believes our society can improve global business development through volunteer time, knowledge sharing, and financial donations. In addition to writing several textbooks, Dr. Dlabay teaches accounting and various international business courses. His hobbies include a collection of cereal packages from over 100 countries and paper currency from 200 countries, which are used to teach about economic, cultural, and political aspects of international business environments.

His research involves informal and alternative financial services, microfinance, and value chain facilitation in base-of-the-pyramid (BoP) market settings. Dlabay has presented more than 300 workshops and seminars for teachers and community organizations. He serves on the boards of Bright Hope International (www.brighthope.org), which emphasizes microenterprise development through microfinance programs, and Andean Aid (www.andeanaid.org), which provides tutoring assistance to school-age children in Colombia and Venezuela. Professor Dlabay has a BS (Accounting) from the University of Illinois, Chicago; an MBA from DePaul University; and an EdD in Business and Economic Education from Northern Illinois University. He has twice received the Great Teacher award at Lake Forest College.