Ana Harvey Named to Lead SBA`s Office of Women`s Business Ownership

WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
Ana Recio Harvey, an experienced entrepreneur and recently the president of the
Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, has been named as head of the
U.S. Small Business Administration`s Office of Women`s Business Ownership, SBA
Administrator Karen G. Mills announced today.

As associate administrator of the Office of Women`s Business Ownership, Harvey
will manage the agency`s efforts to promote the growth of women-owned businesses
through programs that address business training and technical assistance, and
provide access to credit and capital, federal contracts and international trade
opportunities.

"Women business owners play a huge economic, cultural and social role in every
part of American life," said Mills. "Women business owners are at the forefront
of change and progress in this country. Addressing their special needs and
helping them break down obstacles are critical to the nation`s economic
recovery. Ana Harvey is the right person to help SBA accomplish that task."

The National Women`s Business Council, which advises SBA, estimates that in 2008
there were 7.2 million majority-owned, privately-held, women-owned businesses in
the United States. These firms employ 7.3 million people and generate $1.1
trillion in sales.

Harvey will direct the SBA`s network of Women`s Business Centers, which provide
training and counseling to thousands of women business owners across the country
from 112 centers in nearly every state. The program office also works with
women`s business ownership representatives in every SBA district office, and the
Online Women`s Business Center.

Harvey holds a bachelor`s degree from the University of Houston. After working
as a translation consultant from 1991 to 2000, she established Syntaxis, a
multilingual communications company serving clients that included Fortune 500
companies, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. Over the course of
seven years, she built the company to 75 employees handling communications and
translations in 25 languages.

After a two-year stint as Latino programs director with Cultural Tourism DC,
Harvey became president and CEO of the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce in 2007.

Release Number: 09-24

SBA
Cecelia Taylor, 202-401-3058
http://www.sba.gov/news

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