President Joe Biden nominated Isabel Guzman to lead the Small Business Administration.
She was the first Latina named to a cabinet-level post by Biden, adding to the diversity of a team he’s pledged would “look like America.”
The position: Provides assistance to small businesses.
Isabel Casillas Guzman is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, with a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a Concentration in Marketing.
Small businesses have always been a part of Isabella Casillas Guzman’s life, starting with the chain of veterinarian hospitals owned by her family.
From 2009 until 2014, Guzman was a director of strategic initiatives at ProAmerica Bank, a commercial bank that serviced small and mid-sized businesses. ProAmerica was acquired by Pacific Commerce Bancorp in 2018.
From 2014 until 2017, Guzman served as a deputy chief of staff and senior adviser to the administrator at the SBA during the Obama administration as well as running her own small businesses.
From 2017 until 2019, Guzman worked as a consultant/advisor to Larta Institute and Small Business Startups.
In 2018, Guzman co-founded GovContractPros, LCC to “help government contractors access the $500 billion federal marketplace.”
She was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom as the director of the Office of Small Business Advocate in the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) in 2019.
In 2020, Guzman was named California’s top small businesses advocate and the California Steward Leader of the Year at the 2020 California Economic Summit as well as she and her team were highlighted for helping small businesses adapt to the “new normal” and connecting them to resources and local advisors.
In response to COVID, Guzman’s office’s Shop Safe Shop Local initiative has provided information on reopening safely, including guidance on how to protect employees, clients and their businesses as well as tools to expand their online presence.