The Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced the selection of the new group of leaders for the advisory board of the Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), a national network of nearly 1,000 small business resource partners in the United States especially focused on providing training and advice to small local and rural businesses.

"SBA's Small Business Development Centers drive economic growth and open doors of opportunity in communities across America, especially in support of those small businesses hardest hit by the pandemic and growing climate disasters. With equity as our North Star, I look forward to working with the board and the entire SBDC network overall to strengthen inclusive small business support networks and to advance entrepreneurship, especially with rural businesses and people of color in our underserved communities,” stated Isabel Casillas Guzmán, SBA Administrator.

The New Board

With the clear goal of strengthening its Townhall program, announced for the fall of 2022, the board elected Lea Marquez Peterson as the new president, and Kristin Bailey as the new vice president.

Composed of nine members, who must be owners of an academic small business or be familiar with the challenges and opportunities of small businesses, these representatives, appointed by the administrator of the SBA, are appointed for periods of three years and have the function of electing the president.

“The National SBDC Advisory Board is appointed to advise, counsel, and confer with the Associate Administrator of the Office of Small Business Development Centers in carrying out the SBDC program under Section 21 of the Small Business Act,” highlights the SBA.

National Small Business Development Center Advisory Board

These are the names that will make up the new board of the SBDC network:

• Adjoa Asamoah, Founder, and CEO, ABA Consulting LLC
• Karen Barbour, President , The Barbour Group, LLC
• Kristen Bailey, Co-Founder & CEO of Sweets & Meats BBQ
• Louis Foreman, Founder and Chief Executive of Enventys
• Dr. Joseph Guzman, Director of the Economic Policy Institute
• Benjamin Kwitek, President and CEO of InterForm, Inc.
• Ms. Cabrera Morris, Founder of BCM Consulting
• Lea Márquez Peterson, Member, Arizona Corporation Commission
• Senator Bruce Thompson, Georgia State Senator

Reactions

"The Board of Advisors have demonstrated their service to small business owners and Small Business Development Centers. I am energized to work with the National SBDC Advisory Board in positioning our small business owners to thrive,” said Mark Madrid, SBA Associate Administrator of the Office of Entrepreneurial Development.

For his part, Bruce Purdy, SBA Associate Administrator of the Office of Small Business Development Centers, pointed out: "We are excited and pleased to work with our National Small Business Development Center Advisory Board. We encourage Small Business Development Centers to consult with them as they each have extensive business, community engagement, and leadership experience to help guide the SBDC program in expanding outreach to small businesses.”

For more information on the members of the Advisory Council, click here.

About the Small Business Development Center Program

The SBA’s SBDC program is a cooperative effort of the private sector, the educational community, and federal, state, and local governments to provide advice, training, and technical assistance in all aspects of small business management through its nearly 1,000 centers in all the country.

SBDCs play an essential role in the economic development of their state and local communities through direct, personal small business counseling and innovative training programs, including access to capital, government contracting and business development, acquisitions, disaster relief, innovative research and technical training for small businesses, and international trade programs.