Isabella Casillas Guzman served as the 27th administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA). Nominated by President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 7, 2021, and confirmed by the Senate on March 16, 2021, Guzman was sworn into office the next day. As administrator, she represented and supported over 33 million U.S. startups and small businesses.

Early Life and Education

Guzman was born in Burbank, Calif., in 1970 and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in economics. Her career positions before serving at the SBA included director of strategic initiatives at ProAmerica Bank, deputy chief of staff at the SBA, cofounder of GovContractPros, and director at the Office of Small Business Advocate in the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.

Notable Accomplishments

In 2018 Guzman cofounded GovContractPros to provide consulting services to companies interested in obtaining contracts with the federal government. From 2019 to 2021 she served as the director of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate, where she was the voice of small businesses and innovative startups in the fifth largest economy in the world.

As director she advocated for and administered programs and initiatives to aid small businesses and helped connect entrepreneurs in every community with necessary resources. During the pandemic she initiated a $500 million business grant program.

Administrator of the Small Bu🉐siness Administr♐ation

Guzman first served the SBA during the Obama administration from 2104 to 2017, when she was the deputy chief of staff and senior advisor to Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet. She assumed her role as SBA administrator in 2021 duri🐟ng the Biden presidency.ღ

As U.S. small businesses struggled during the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:COVID-19 pandemic, Guzman inherited a portfolio of nearly $1 trillion in emergency aid for small-business services and oversaw the Paycheck Protection Program, the forgivable loan program to help owners maintain their workforce. Additionally, she monitored the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and the Shuttered Venues Grant programs, both designed to help restaurant and event owners receive funding.

In 2022 Guzman expanded the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Community Advantage Pilot Program, “designed to leverage mission-based lenders to meet the credit, management, and technical assistance needs of small businesses in underserved markets.” In 2023 program lenders transitioned to a new Community Advantage SBLC license. The change allowed for permanency in SBA lending for mission-driven organizations. The program also inaugurated 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:new lending procedures, including streamlined eligibility determination of 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:SBA-backed loans and the addition of fraud reviews on all loans.

The Bottom Line

Isabella Casillas Guzman was raised by a small-business owner and learned the importance of small businesses to the communities they serve, the people they employ, and the economies they create. She served as the 27th administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration from 2021-2025, during the Joe Biden presidency, In that position, she led multiple initiatives that helped U.S. small-business owners and entrepreneurs.