Wendy Angst

Wendy Angst is the Mike & Melanie Neumann Director of the Powerful Means Initiative and a Professor in the Department of Management & Organization at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. She also serves as the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Impact Consulting Minor and has been instrumental in shaping experiential learning opportunities that empower students to drive meaningful social impact and grow the good in business.
Since joining Notre Dame in 2010, Wendy has taught undergraduate, graduate, and executive courses in innovation, design thinking, strategy, consulting, and entrepreneurship. She is the founding director of the Powerful Means Initiative, which provides multi-semester project engagements, guiding students from idea to implementation in tackling the world’s most pressing problems.
Wendy has deep experience in global impact work, particularly through her ongoing collaboration with Saint Bakhita’s Vocational Training Center in Uganda. Her work—featured in Notre Dame’s “What Would You Fight For?” campaign—focuses on empowering young women with pathways out of poverty through education, innovation, and business. This initiative has launched the "Innovation Scholars" program, providing work-study opportunities for girls to continue their education; supported the creation of student-led businesses, enhancing the school's sustainability while improving regional economic prosperity; and developed a student-led impact fund and incubator, equipping Innovation Scholar graduates with the resources to launch and scale ventures.
Beyond her work at Notre Dame, Wendy is a Visiting Professor at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, where she teaches Innovation & Design Thinking. She also serves on the Notre Dame Global Advisory Committee for Sub-Sahara Africa, is a Faculty Fellow with the Pulte Institute for Global Development, and is an executive committee member of Hesburgh Women of Impact Aspiring Leaders. She also mentors students through Notre Dame’s Building Bridges and ND Elevate programs.
Wendy’s contributions to teaching and student mentorship have been widely recognized. She is a Poets & Quants Favorite Business Professor (2019, 2020) and a recipient of multiple teaching awards, including Mendoza’s Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award (2024), the Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C., Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, and the Joe & Gina Prochaska Family Teaching Award.
Before transitioning to academia, Wendy was a healthcare entrepreneur, serving as a founding member and later CEO of CapMed, one of the earliest champions of electronic personal health records. She led the company from startup to acquisition, pioneering advancements in consumer-driven healthcare.
Outside of her professional work, Wendy enjoys running, biking, traveling, and spending time with her husband, their three children and their goldendoodle, Finn.