The Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce that Andrea Berstler, Executive Director of the Wicomico Public Libraries, has been named the first segment instructor for the 2015-2016 class of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy. YEA! is an innovative program that transforms local middle and high school students into real entrepreneurial successes.
“Andrea’s dedication to the community and deep entrepreneurial knowledge makes her a great role model for YEA! students,” Ernie Colburn, SACC President & CEO said. “Our goal is to teach students how to develop the type of entrepreneurial mindset that Andrea has taken with her throughout her extremely successful and diverse career.”
Andrea has been the Executive Director of Wicomico Public Libraries since January of 2012. Prior to coming to Salisbury, she was the Branch Manager for the Hankin Branch Library in Chester Springs, PA and the Director of the Village Library in Morgantown, PA.
Currently, Andrea serves as a member of the Maryland Library Association and is the 2016 Conference Chair. She has been on several American Library Association committees and roundtables including the Rural, Native and Tribal Roundtable, the Digital Inclusion Project and the Policy Revolution Committee. She is also the President Elect for the Rotary Club of Wicomico County and has served on committees for the United Way and the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce.
Andrea holds two Master of Library Science degrees; one from Kutztown University and the second from the University of Maryland. She has a BS in Biblical Studies from Lancaster Bible College and a Pennsylvania State teaching certificate from Millersville University. Andrea has presented at local, state and national levels on strategic planning, program development, quality customer service and efficient models for managing non-profit organizations.
A converted educator and former business major, Andrea has found a surprising amount of information from both education and business classes have come to her aid as a library administrator. Advocating that libraries consider themselves customer service businesses, Andrea challenges library managers to apply solid business principles in the running of their organization.
Classes begin on November 10th and will be hosted at the BEACON suite at Salisbury University in the Franklin P. Perdue School of Business. The 2015-2016 class will be the 1st YEA! class on the Eastern Shore. The first segment will focus on idea brainstorming and idea generation. Throughout the year, students will work in close cooperation with local business leaders, community leaders and educators who use their personal experiences to demonstrate how to develop ideas and objectives, write a business plan, pitch potential investors, obtain funding, register with governmental agencies, establish e-commerce and a web presence, and much more. By the end of the class, students own and operate fully-formed and functioning businesses, which may be carried after their graduation from the program.
