SBA Administrator Appoints New Members to Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet has named three new members for a three-year term to the Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs (ACVBA).

The Committee serves as an independent source of advice and policy recommendations to the SBA Administrator, the Associate Administrator of the Office of Veterans Business Development, Congress, the President and other U.S. policy makers under Section 203 of the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999. The Committee was established in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

The new members of the advisory board include:

• Joseph C. Sharpe Jr., Director of the Veterans Employment and Education Division, American Legion. Mr. Sharpe leads the American Legion's Small Business Task Force, which has been instrumental in enduring Congressional support of SBA veteran programs for over a decade.  The American Legion continues to be a valued SBA partner, providing venues and outreach for the SBA's Boots to Business Reboot program in numerous cities nationwide to provide entrepreneurship training to veterans of all eras and members of the Reserve and National Guard.
• Rebekah K. Stroman, Director of Business and State Engagement, Hiring Our Heroes, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (UCCF)'s Hiring Our Heroes (HoH) programs are conducted at military installations nationwide for transitioning service members and military spouses.  SBA partnership with the HoH programs has led to meaningful increases in recognition of and participation in the SBA's Boots to Business program, an entrepreneurial training course offered as part of the Department of Defense Transition Assistance Program at over 200 military installations worldwide. 
• Fran Perez-Wilhite, Business Development, North Carolina Military Business Center.  Ms. Perez-Wilhite assists and mentors veteran-owned businesses in competing for federal procurement opportunities and connects these businesses with additional resources. The North Carolina Military Business Center expands the economy and improves the quality of life in North Carolina by leveraging military and federal business opportunities, and supports OVBD's participation in numerous veterans' business development events in North Carolina.

The new members join Chairman Jim O'Farrell and other committee members, meeting quarterly in Washington, D.C. The Committee's annual reports and past meeting minutes can be viewed at https://www.sba.gov/offices/headquarters/ovbd/resources/14397.  The next Committee meeting is March 9, 2017, in Washington, D.C. and is open to the public.

About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 and since January 13, 2012, has served as a Cabinet-level agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation.  The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses.  Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, the SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. 

Contact: Carol Chastang (202) 205-6987
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news
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Release Number: 17-06

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SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration