Create experiences that support active-learning, reflection, and community.
— Values for Teaching and Life

About Mona Anita

Enjoying yoga on Havika beach in Farsund, Norway.

Mona Anita K. Olsen, Ph.D. is a British-born American third-culture kid (TCK) and entrepreneurial academic. She lives in Norway with her daughter and Alaskan Husky. A fourth-generation property owner in Farsund, Mona Anita moved from New York to follow her Dream In Progress (DIP)—to redevelop the barn on property into Kalista Laaven, a mixed-use space for experiences that encourage active-learning, reflection, and community. Kalista Laaven is home to the yoga and flower studio Route 8 Flow: From Flow to Flow(ers).

Olsen holds an academic appointment for teaching and research as an Associate Professor (Førsteamanuensis) in entrepreneurship at the University of Southeastern Norway (USN) in the School of Business in the Department of Business and IT. She is the owner of Innovation Barn AS which provides services and experiences to support entrepreneurial development in Norway.

Teaching in an entrepreneurship course at Cornell University.

Previously, Olsen was an assistant professor of entrepreneurship at the Nolan School of Hotel Administration in the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and the Academic Program Advisor for General Education of the VinUniversity Project. While at Cornell, Olsen was a Faculty Fellow for Risley Residential College for the Creative and Performing Arts. She led initiatives to obtain a grant from Norway's Centre for International Cooperation in Education (SIU), participate in the International Academic Partnership Program (IAPP) Cuba and Norway (core initiatives of the Institute of International Education), and create a Small Private Online Class (SPOC) called HADM 4180x MAD Clouds: Making a Difference with Cloud-Based Technology in Entrepreneurial Business Planning. With funding from the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, she developed the course HADM 4133/6133: Global Conversations with Entrepreneurs and as an Engaged Cornell Fellow created Yogibana (weaving Yoga + Ikebana in 12 steps). From 2013 to 2016, Olsen served in the academic directorship of the Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship at Cornell.

Prior to joining the Cornell faculty, Olsen was a U.S. Fulbright Grantee to Norway, awarded by the United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Olsen embraced her experience in Norway and worked on growing the educational nonprofit (501c3) iMADdu, which stands for "I Make A Difference, Do You?".

Olsen was the assistant director of the Mason Small Business Development Center at the Office of Research and Economic Development at George Mason University. She also worked as a worldwide sales analyst in Georgetown for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

Olsen holds a Bachelor of Science with Distinction (Hotel Management) from Cornell University, a Masters (Management of Information Technology) from the University of Virginia, and a PhD (Education) from George Mason University.

Olsen is a certified Sogetsu Ikebana and Yoga (C-HYI) (Y12) Instructor. She has shared her passion for teaching in locations such as at The Cornell Botanical Gardens in Ithaca, New York, Kunstpunkt Lista and The Longhouse at Lista in Norway, and in Aberdeen, Scotland.

A continuous learner, Olsen spends her free taking photos, being curios while exploring new places, writing, trying out new yoga and flower studios, and improving her barista skills.

Preparing for an ikebana class in Ithaca, New York.

What part of your 86,400 did you use to make a difference towards your dream in progress (DIP) today?
— A daily question.

Buddy Grunder in Lista, Norway.