New Carey faculty are in the right place, at the right time, to impact the future

An MBA program director who is a “wannabe lounge singer” and an assistant professor who is a yogi and a foodie - welcome aboard! Johns Hopkins Carey Business School’s two newest faculty members have vastly different backgrounds and areas of expertise, but they share one thing in common: they both feel they are in the right place, at the right time, to make a mark on the future.

Erik Helzer (academic director, Full-time MBA program and associate professor, management and organization) returns to Carey after a few years teaching at the Naval Postgraduate School. Helzer is known for developing and applying psychological, organizational, and behavioral science insights to understand the cultivation of practical wisdom for leading organizations. His research focuses on three facets of practical wisdom: ethical behavior and moral judgment, self-knowledge, and personal agency and adjustment.

Q: What excites you about being at Carey Business School? 
A: The Carey community is strong, vibrant, and welcoming, and we are in the process of writing a very exciting and important chapter of our history. That is why I chose to return to the Carey Business School.

Q: What’s your best piece of advice for graduate students? 
A: In your studies and in life, follow your interests and be guided by your values. You may not recognize opportunities as opportunities in the moment, so stay open to possibility and take some chances even if you don’t know where they’ll lead. Then be sure to take time to reflect so you can turn these experiences into wisdom.

Q: What is the most interesting thing about you? 
A: I try to stay intellectually limber, which has contributed to lots of interesting experiences in my 42 years of life. I have officiated 10 friends’ weddings (though I am now retired) and I am a wannabe lounge singer.

Q: What else would you like to share about yourself? 
A: I love living in Baltimore; the people and community here are unlike any other place I’ve lived, which is part of why I’m so happy to be back. I’ve missed this place and these people.

Atiye Cansu Erol (assistant professor, information systems) studies the impact of digital technologies on health care provision for vulnerable populations and the factors that operate at the organizational and individual levels that facilitate or inhibit the use or benefit of these technologies. 

Q: What excites you about being at Carey Business School? 
A: Being at a truly interdisciplinary place is amazing. Especially for research in the health care domain, being so close to people who approach the topic from different perspectives—practitioners, economists, public policy experts—is very helpful to get a better understanding of the problems at hand. But mostly, feeling that it is possible to create real-life impact. The proximity to policymakers in DC, both in terms of physical distance and network, while working with one of the top health care providers in the world feels like I am right there, where the future is being designed. 

Q: What’s your best piece of advice for graduate students? 
A: Make sure you work on a topic that really gets you excited. I think people can tell if you care about your topic, because the way we talk about our research significantly changes then. It is always a pleasure to be around people who truly enjoy their work and to have them as colleagues. Furthermore, feeling dedicated to a bigger goal certainly helps keep you motivated at times when research gets challenging. 

Q: What is your favorite meal? 
A: Karniyarik, Turkish stuffed eggplant. This is fried eggplant, which is later stuffed with minced meat and roasted. It is a great comfort food. 

Q: What else would you like to share about yourself? 
A: I love learning about others’ passions, what they work on, and their culture. I believe not restricting ourselves to conversations with colleagues or friends already in our network and being open to new perspectives from new people can be every inspirational and eye-opening. So, I am always on the lookout for ways to learn from others, even if their work is not directly related to mine.