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About Cynthia
Cynthia Banks is an accomplished entrepreneur and educator in Business & Economics, with strong ties to the University of Colorado system. She earned a Bachelor of Science in business from Colorado State University and a Master of Science in organizational development, along with a certificate in entrepreneurship, from the University of Colorado Denver. As Instructor and Faculty Director for Global Initiatives at the Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Boulder, Banks has taught entrepreneurship courses to undergraduate and graduate students since 2016. Her offerings include the FGX International experience course, through which she spearheads global initiatives to expose students to international opportunities. Banks fosters a classroom environment that invests in student curiosity, encouraging creative problem-solving for community and global challenges informed by her extensive real-world experience.
Banks' professional journey began shortly after college when she supported a former marketing professor's undergraduate student trip to Australia, sparking her passion for international education despite lacking her own study abroad opportunity. In 1990, she founded AustraLearn, capitalizing on the market for English-speaking, STEM-focused destinations such as Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji. This evolved into GlobaLinks Learning Abroad, providing study abroad programs, internships, and summer sessions across 27 countries with 150 distinct programs, serving 30,000 students over 24 years until its sale in 2014. Following this milestone, she launched The Global Leadership League to train global leaders, highlighting feminine leadership qualities like communication, collaboration, and empathy. Banks operates New World Vistas as a consulting business, invests actively with the Rockies Venture Club Women’s Investor Network, and served on the board of NAFSA: Association of International Educators. She has also contributed to CU Denver Business School events, including panel discussions on alumni networks and judging The CLIMB Jake Jabs Business Plan Competition.