Business

Two Calif. Women Are Now Leading Efforts to Support State’s 3.9 Million Small Businesses

“Tara is a tireless and effective leader in California’s small business community and the right choice at this pivotal time,” she said. “As the state of California continues its recovery, Tara will turn advocacy into action, get results for small businesses, and ensure our diverse small business owners and entrepreneurs are at the table driving towards an equitable and inclusive economic recovery.”

Published

3 years ago

March 26, 2021

Kiki

Isabell Guzman, SBA director (left); Tara Lynn Gray, director of the Office of the Small Business Advocate.

Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that he had appointed Tara Lynn Gray, 57, of Fresno, as director of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA).

In that role, Gray, who is African American, replaces Isabel Guzman, who was appointed by Pres. Joe Biden as the 27^th administrator of the Small Business Administration in January. Last week in Wash., D.C., with an 81-17 vote, the United States Senate confirmed Guzman’s nomination. She is Latina.

In California, Gray is expected to begin working immediately since the Small Business Advocate position does not require State Senate confirmation.

Now, working with similar mandates — one in a federal Cabinet position and the other at the top-level of state government — Guzman and Gray have become the de facto leading advocates for the almost 4 million small businesses in California, which, in aggregate, hire more than 7 million people and account for more than 99% of all Golden State businesses.

Together, the women will be responsible for directing tens of billions of dollars in emergency and ongoing budgetary funding to California small businesses.

CalOSBA is part of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), which serves as the state’s main apparatus leading economic development programs designed to boost job growth and business assistance efforts.

Ashley Swearengin, CEO of the Central Valley Community Foundation and former Republican mayor of Fresno, praised Gray’s appointment.

GO-Biz offers a range of growth and support services to California business owners, including permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, international trade development assistance, and more, according to the governor’s office. The governor has also charged the office to manage more than $2 billion in COVID-19 relief funding targeted to small businesses, non-profits and cultural institutions across California.

A Burbank resident, Guzman earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business. As SBA Administrator, she will lead the federal agency with 9,000 employees and represent the interests of the country’s estimated 30 million small businesses.

In addition, she will oversee key parts of the Biden-Harris administration’s $1.9 trillion stimulus American Rescue Plan, including relief funding for small businesses like the Paycheck Protection Program and the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program.

“Throughout my public and private sector career, I have been dedicated to helping small businesses grow and succeed,” Guzman said during her Senate confirmation hearing. “Now more than ever, our impacted small businesses need our support, and the SBA stands ready to help them reopen and thrive.”

Before Newsom appointed Guzman to serve as CalOSBA director in 2019, she served as the SBA’s deputy chief of staff and senior advisor during the Obama-Biden Administration.

Before Gray accepted the top role at CalOSBA last week, she had been serving as the Chief Executive Officer of YADARI Enterprises for the last 16 years. YADARI is a tech consulting firm with headquarters in Vallejo.

Currently, Gray is also president and CEO of Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce (FMBCC), a position she has held since 2017. FMBCC is a community-based organization that advances the interests of African American entrepreneurs in the Central Valley with programs that focus on advocacy and economic development.

Before that, Gray held a number of leadership positions at technology firms, including president of Ecopia Information Technology Consulting from 2000 to 2002 and Senior Telecommunications and Project Manager and Network Engineer for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan from 1995 to 1999. She has also served in top management roles at Lotus Development Corporation and Ross-Dove Company Auctioneers.

Gray holds a master’s degree in Christian Studies from Grand Canyon University in Arizona and a Bachelor’s in Business Management from Saint Mary’s College in Contra Costa County.

In addition to her many professional accomplishments, Gray is actively involved in the social, civic and religious life of Fresno as well as the broader African American community across California. She is a member of Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA), Abundant Life Worship Center, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, the California Black Chamber of Commerce and Chamber Foundation, and the California Small Business Employer Advisory Council.

Gray, a Democrat, will earn an annual salary of $175,644.

Kiki

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State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

Published

2 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.

By Carla Thomas

The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.

ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.

“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.

More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.

Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.

“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.

“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.

“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.

By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”

Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”

Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”

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Black Business Summit Focuses on Equity, Access and Data

The California African American Chamber of Commerce hosted its second annual “State of the California African American Economy Summit,” with the aim of bolstering Black economic influence through education and fellowship. Held Jan. 24 to Jan. 25 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, the convention brought together some of the most influential Black business leaders, policy makers and economic thinkers in the state. The discussions focused on a wide range of economic topics pertinent to California’s African American business community, including policy, government contracts, and equity, and more.

Published

3 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA), answers questions from concerned entrepreneurs frustrated with a lack of follow-up from the state. January 24, 2024 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, Lost Angeles, Calif. Photo by Solomon O. Smith

By Solomon O. Smith, California Black Media

The California African American Chamber of Commerce hosted its second annual “State of the California African American Economy Summit,” with the aim of bolstering Black economic influence through education and fellowship.

Held Jan. 24 to Jan. 25 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, the convention brought together some of the most influential Black business leaders, policy makers and economic thinkers in the state. The discussions focused on a wide range of economic topics pertinent to California’s African American business community, including policy, government contracts, and equity, and more.

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA) was a guest at the event. He told attendees about his department’s efforts to increase access for Black business owners.

“One thing I’m taking away from this for sure is we’re going to have to do a better job of connecting through your chambers of all these opportunities of billions of dollars that are coming down the pike. I’m honestly disappointed that people don’t know, so we’ll do better,” said Omishakin.

Lueathel Seawood, the president of the African American Chamber of Commerce of San Joaquin County, expressed frustration with obtaining federal contracts for small businesses, and completing the process. She observed that once a small business was certified as DBE, a Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, there was little help getting to the next step.

Omishakin admitted there is more work to be done to help them complete the process and include them in upcoming projects. However, the high-speed rail system expansion by the California High-Speed Rail Authority has set a goal of 30% participation from small businesses — only 10 percent is set aside for DBE.

The importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in economics was reinforced during the “State of the California Economy” talk led by author and economist Julianne Malveaux, and Anthony Asadullah Samad, Executive Director of the Mervyn Dymally African American Political and Economic Institute (MDAAPEI) at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Assaults on DEI disproportionately affect women of color and Black women, according to Malveaux. When asked what role the loss of DEI might serve in economics, she suggested a more sinister purpose.

“The genesis of all this is anti-blackness. So, your question about how this fits into the economy is economic exclusion, that essentially has been promoted as public policy,” said Malveaux.

The most anticipated speaker at the event was Janice Bryant Howroyd known affectionately to her peers as “JBH.” She is one of the first Black women to run and own a multi-billion-dollar company. Her company ActOne Group, is one of the largest, and most recognized, hiring, staffing and human resources firms in the world. She is the author of “Acting Up” and has a profile on Forbes.

Chairman of the board of directors of the California African American Chamber of Commerce, Timothy Alan Simon, a lawyer and the first Black Appointments Secretary in the Office of the Governor of California, moderated. They discussed the state of Black entrepreneurship in the country and Howroyd gave advice to other business owners.

“We look to inspire and educate,” said Howroyd. “Inspiration is great but when I’ve got people’s attention, I want to teach them something.”