Karen Gordon Mills, appointed by President Obama to lead the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), will visit UNCG Wednesday, Feb. 15.
Mills’ presentation, “The Path to Entrepreneurial Success: Capitalizing on Opportunities and Resources,” will begin at 2:30 p.m. in the Elliott University Center Auditorium. She will take questions from local entrepreneurs after her presentation, and will speak to area media from 3:30-4 p.m.
Mills’ visit to UNCG is part of a tour of U.S. colleges and universities that includes George Washington University and the University of Colorado-Boulder. She was drawn to UNCG because of the university’s nationally recognized entrepreneurship initiatives such as the N.C. Entrepreneurship Center and the Entrepreneurship Cross-Disciplinary Program, said Mike Tarrant, UNCG’s director of strategic initiatives.
Dr. MacRae C. Banks II, dean of the Bryan School of Business and Economics, will moderate the event, which includes a panel discussion with local entrepreneurs. The presentation is free and open to the public, but attendees should register online at http://thepathatuncg.eventbrite.com/.
UNCG will also stream the discussion. Watch live online at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-path-at-uncg.
Mills was sworn in April 6, 2009, as the 23rd administrator of the SBA after being appointed by President Barack Obama and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. On January 13, 2012, she was elevated to serve in the President’s Cabinet.
SBA’s mission is to help entrepreneurs and small business owners grow and create jobs by providing greater access to capital, counseling, federal contracting opportunities, disaster assistance and more. Among its priorities, the SBA has a portfolio of more than $90 billion in loan guarantees. Each year, the agency helps leverage nearly $100 billion in federal contracts to small businesses and supports free counseling and technical assistance to more than one million entrepreneurs. In addition, SBA provides disaster assistance to homeowners, renters, and businesses.
Throughout her career, Mills has owned, managed, mentored, and invested in small and growing businesses across the country. She earned an A.B. in economics from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School where she was a Baker Scholar. She has served on the Council on Foreign Relations and was vice chairman of the Harvard Overseers.
For more details on the Mill’s visit, contact Mike Tarrant at 336-501-2673 or mttarran@uncg.edu.