Adrienne L Garland

Adrienne Garland is an Adjunct Instructor at NYU Tisch Center of Hospitality, where she teaches Entrepreneurship at the graduate and undergraduate levels, and a graduate-level course in Customer Relationship Management.

She's also the founder of She Leads Media, a company dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs through conferences, podcasts, and a community. Her She Leads LIVE Conference is in its 11th year and has become New York City's premier event for women entrepreneurs. This work isn't separate from her teaching, it's central to it. Adrienne is deeply committed to showing women that entrepreneurship is a viable path, and that commitment shapes how she approaches every class.

Her teaching philosophy centers on something she learned from building her own business: knowing yourself matters as much as knowing your subject matter. She pushes students to reflect on who they are, what they value, and how they want to show up in the world. Then she helps them figure out how to synthesize that self-knowledge with what they're learning about entrepreneurship, marketing, and customer relationships. The goal isn't just to teach business building skills, it's to help students build careers and lives that are actually fulfilling.

Adrienne cares deeply about her students. She asks them to reflect regularly, not just on what they're learning but on how it connects to their own experiences and perspectives. She teaches them to think critically from their own point of view rather than just absorbing information. This approach recognizes that business decisions aren't made in a vacuum. Rather, they’re shaped by who you are and what matters to you.

When she teaches about launching a business, managing customer relationships, or adapting to market changes, she's working through these challenges herself with She Leads Media. This gives students practical insights they can use immediately, whether they're starting their own ventures or working in established companies.

Her CRM course focuses on how to use customer data strategically and effectively, build lasting loyalty, and create personalized experiences at scale. These skills are particularly valuable in hospitality, where customer relationships and trust drive success.

Adrienne also teaches at the Jones School of Business at Rice University, where she leads Global Field Experiences, taking MBA students to different countries to work on real startup projects, and teaches a New Venture Entrepreneurship class.

Adrienne earned her MBA in Marketing from NYU Stern School of Business, and prior to founding She Leads Media, she held corporate leadership positions at Cablevision, PR Newswire, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. This corporate background helps her teach students to navigate both entrepreneurial and corporate environments, understanding that multiple paths exist to building a meaningful career.

Adrienne lives on Long Island with her husband and two sons. She practices meditation and yoga, and enjoys outdoor activities. This commitment to balance is something she brings into her teaching, encouraging students to think about sustainability in their careers and lives, as well as their business models.