Karen Kerrigan is leading SBE Council into its 25th year of protecting small business and promoting entrepreneurship.For nearly twenty-five years Karen Kerrigan’s leadership, advocacy and training work has helped foster U.S. entrepreneurship and global small business growth. She is president & CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, and is the group’s chief advocate for its members.
Kerrigan regularly testifies before the U.S. Congress on the key issues impacting entrepreneurs and the economy, and has been appointed to numerous federal advisory boards including the National Women’s Business Council, the U.S.-Iraq Business Dialog, the U.S. Treasury’s Taxpayer Advisory Panel, and the National Advisory Committee for Labor Provisions of U.S. Free Trade Agreements. Kerrigan regularly engages with the President’s cabinet and key advisors, and has spoken or led roundtables at several White House economic summits, scores of events hosted by the Small Business Administration, U.S. Treasury Department and other federal government agencies and departments.
Kerrigan is a collaborative and well-respected individual within the advocacy and business community who has led numerous coalitions and initiatives with diverse partners and organizations. She has written hundreds of Op-Eds and newspaper columns, and regularly appears on national television and talk radio programs.
President & CEO
National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (National ACE)
Chiling Tong is the Chief Executive Officer and President of the National Asian/Pacific Islander Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ACE). Ms. Tong previously served at the Chief Executive Office and founding president of the International Leadership Foundation (ILF). She also serves as a member of the National Advisory Council of Minority Business Enterprises at the U.S. Department of Commerce and as an Ash Center research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Ms. Tong has intensive experience in domestic and international economic and business development, with a focus on researching and enhancing the growth of small minority business enterprises competing in the global market. Previously, she served as chief of staff and associate director at the Minority Business Development Agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce. Prior to Ms. Tong’s appointment with the MBDA, she served as the deputy assistant secretary for Asia and the Pacific at the International Trade Administration in the Department of Commerce. She has also served as a co-chair for the Coalition of Asian American Business Associations (CAABO).
Ms. Tong has received numerous awards due to her dedication and volunteer work for the AAPI community including the Ellis Island Award and President’s Volunteer Service Award. She is married to Joel Szabat, deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Aram Nadjarian
Candace Waterman
President & CEO
Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP)
Candace Waterman is President and CEO of Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP). With over 35 years of experience, spanning across both the private and public sector; she has owned three successful companies in the medical, real estate and hospitality industries; and worked as an executive for the ambulatory services division of a hospital system in Michigan overseeing OB-GYN, hematology, radiology and oncology operations and programs.
In her current role, she heads the leading national non-partisan policy organization on the Hill for women in business. Serving as the voice for the over 12 million women owned companies in the U.S., she works in a bipartisan manner with lawmakers to impact and influence policy that provides economic equity, procurement inclusion and access to the global marketplace.
Prior to joining WIPP, Candace served as the Vice President and Chief of Staff for the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the nation’s leading third-party certifier of Women’s Business Enterprises (WBEs) and Woman Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs). During her tenure at WBENC, she was responsible for effective operational management of all WBENC CORE processes and specifically, served as the SME globally, for the WBENC WBE and WOSB certification programs. Under Candace’s leadership, her team implemented the digitization of WBENCs certification program, one of the largest projects in WBENCs history.
Justin Nelson
Co-Founder & President
National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC)
Justin Nelson is the Co-Founder and President of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), the business voice of the LGBT community and the largest LGBT economic advocacy and business development organization in the world.
In addition to over 45 LGBT affiliate chambers in the United States representing America’s 1.4 million LGBT business owners, NGLCC leads economic development opportunities at over a dozen international affiliates. NGLCC is responsible for major victories for the LGBT business community, among them the first-in-the-nation inclusion of LGBT suppliers in statewide contracting opportunities with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Justin regularly advises senior leaders at the White House, in Congress, and corporations throughout the world to build business opportunities through commitments to LGBT-inclusive supplier diversity programs. He is a sought-after speaker at conferences and meetings around the globe promoting the business case for LGBT inclusion and creating equity for the LGBT business community.
Small Business Roundtable | All Rights Reserved |
Created by Olive + Ash. Managed by Olive Street Design.