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About the Speakers and Moderators

National/State

Robert E. Litan
Vice President of Research and Policy
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Kansas City

As vice president of research and policy, Litan oversees the foundation's program for funding data collection and research relating to entrepreneurship and economic growth. He is also a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution. He has authored or coauthored 22 books, edited an additional 15, and authored or coauthored over 200 articles in journals, magazines and newspapers. Since the onset of the financial crisis, Litan has authored or coauthored a number of essays on financial reforms for the Brookings Institution website. He has served in several federal government capacities, including associate director of the Office of Management and Budget and deputy assistant attorney general in the antitrust division of the Department of Justice. He also was a staff economist on the Council of Economic Advisers. Litan received his bachelor's degree in economics from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, his juris doctorate from Yale Law School and his master's in philosophy and doctoral degree in economics from Yale University.

Elaine Edgcomb
Director of the Fund for Innovation, Effectiveness, Learning and Dissemination (FIELD)
Aspen Institute
Washington, D.C.

Edgcomb, director of FIELD since 1998, has authored numerous reports on microenterprise, including: Opening Opportunities, Building Ownership: Fulfilling the Promise of Microenterprise in the U.S. (with Joyce Klein, 2005); Scaling Up Microenterprise Services; The Informal Economy: Latino Enterprises at the Margins; The Informal Economy: Making It in Rural America; and Improving Microenterprise Training and Technical Assistance. Edgcomb is also the author and editor of works on evaluation practice, institutional development, financial analysis and microenterprise strategies implemented both internationally and in the United States. She was founding executive director of the Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Network, an association of more than 50 U.S. and Canadian nonprofit organizations that support small business and microenterprise development in the developing world. Edgcomb's international experience includes work with Catholic Relief Services, where she directed the planning and evaluation of socioeconomic development and relief programs in 13 countries in Central America and the Caribbean. With more than 25 years in international development, she has experience in monitoring and evaluating microenterprise programs, training management staff and developing practitioner-oriented materials to support program implementation. She has served on the boards of the SEEP Network, Pro Mujer International and the Association for Enterprise Opportunity. Edgcomb earned her bachelor's degree in history and Spanish from Seton Hall University and a master's degree in Latin American studies from Georgetown University.

Penny K. Pickett
Associate Administrator for Entrepreneurial Development
U. S. Small Business Administration
Washington, D.C.

Pickett is associate administrator for entrepreneurial development, having completed the transition in agency leadership as senior adviser to the administrator at the SBA. She was an adviser on the president's transition team in 2008. Previously, she served as president and board member of the Washington DC Technology Council, a member-driven organization assisting with strengthening the business environment for the technology community in the region. Pickett also served as business director at the Telecommunications Development Fund, where she created resources to provide technical and management support to help companies achieve their capital financing objectives. As part of that effort, she launched online courses in equity financing and corporate governance, developed extensive referral networks of entrepreneurial resources and expanded investor outreach and technical assistance to entrepreneurs nationwide. Pickett has been active in a number of regional business organizations as well as the Kauffman Foundation's Women's Brain Trust, the SBIR/STTR Advisory Committee of the National Science Foundation, the board of the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds, the Women's High Tech Coalition, the advisory board for the DC Minority Business Enterprise Center and the Johns Hopkins Advisory Council on programs in engineering and applied science. She has a bachelor's degree from Agnes Scott College and a master's degree from the University of New Mexico.

Cathy Swain
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Commercial Development
Office of Research and Technology Transfer
University of Texas System
Austin

As assistant vice chancellor for commercial development, Swain is responsible for managing the Texas Ignition Fund proof-of-concept award program for UT inventors; coordinating UT System activities with the Texas Emerging Technology Fund and Regional Centers of Innovation and Commercialization to contribute to economic development; sponsoring the Ideas on Fire! entrepreneurship training for faculty; promoting the UT commercialization story globally; enhancing communications to inspire synergies among campuses and communities; and developing strategies to access venture capital and angel investment for UT System startup companies. Swain joined the UT System in January 2005 as director of investment oversight in the Office of Finance, primarily to help the Board of Regents manage more than $23 billion of UT System endowment and operating assets. Previously, she worked for a regional nonprofit community development corporation, initially as vice president in charge of venture capital equity investments, then as senior vice president and chief financial officer. Swain also served on the Vermont governor's advisory task force to form the Vermont Venture Capital Fund. She has served on investment committees, managed portfolios as large as $2 billion, served as CEO of a regional company, taught professional workshops and college courses and authored published articles. Swain earned her bachelor's degree in economics and master's degree from the University of Illinois and completed postgraduate studies at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Dallas

Cynthia L. Blankenship
Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer
Bank of the West
Irving

Vice chairman, chief operating officer and charter shareholder of Bank of the West, Blankenship has served the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) executive committee as chairman-elect, vice chairman and immediate past chairman. Blankenship has been chairman of the ICBA Congressional Affairs Committee and chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee. She previously served as chairman of the ICBA Bank Education, Policy Development and Membership/Marketing committees. Blankenship also held leadership positions in the Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT). While chairing IBAT's Education Foundation, she established the initial $1 million corpus by fundraising to promote financial literacy. Prior to joining Bank of the West, she held management positions at Independent National Bank of Irving, First National Bank of Grapevine, and Farmers and Merchants State Bank of Krum, Texas. Her community service positions include the Community Bankers Education Foundation, Bear Creek Community Development Project and activities related to Community Banking Month at Bank of the West. Blankenship attended the SMU Graduate School of Banking, Texas Tech University and the Louisiana State University Commercial Lending School.

Theresa Acosta Lee
Chief Lending Officer and Vice President
Texas Mezzanine Fund Inc.
Dallas

Lee has been Texas Mezzanine Fund's primary lender since the organization's inception in 1999. She has served as an economic development lender since 1994, bringing 15 years of bank commercial lending experience to the role of providing underserved markets with access to capital. She currently serves on the boards of Texas Capital Bank Community Development Corporation and the Community Development Corporation of the Southwest. Lee is a past recipient of the Small Business Administration's Financial Services Small Business Advocate of the Year award and was previously named Minority Business Advocate of the Year by the Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington Minority Business Development Center. Lee earned a bachelor's degree from Hendrix College in Conway, Ark.

Gary L. Lindner
Chief Operating Officer
ACCION Texas
San Antonio

Lindner, who joined ACCION Texas in 2004, has over 30 years of experience in military, corporate and nonprofit leadership. He introduced business practices and incentives that enabled ACCION Texas to triple its loan portfolio in less than five years by streamlining the loan process and providing new loan products to meet client needs. As a result, ACCION Texas now has the largest and best-performing microloan portfolio in the United States. In 2007, he worked to have ACCION Texas certified as an SBA 504 lender. Previously, Lindner served as a senior vice president for Southwest Business Corp. An Air Force Academy graduate and career Air Force officer, he is a command pilot and decorated combat veteran with extensive command and staff experience. He has received a number of personal and organization awards for leadership excellence, including the Air War College Award for Excellence. He is also a two-time recipient of the Secretary of the Air Force Award for best Air Force base worldwide while serving as installation commander. Lindner earned a master's degree in political science from Auburn University.

Karl Zavitkovsky
Director of the Office of Economic Development
City of Dallas

Before joining the city of Dallas, Zavitkovsky worked for Bank of America's Real Estate Group for 16 years, serving as managing director and commercial real estate division executive for the central United States. He also supervised the Commercial Real Estate Advisory Group, where he facilitated investment banking transactions. Zavitkovsky began his banking career with International Charter Mortgage Corp. and Citicorp in San Juan, Puerto Rico, focusing primarily on workouts. He later moved to Caracas, Venezuela, where he led Citicorp's real estate lending activities in northern South America and the Caribbean. In 1984, Zavitkovsky moved to Dallas to head Citicorp Real Estate's Southwest region, with offices in Dallas, Houston and Denver. Actively involved in the real estate industry, Zavitkovsky serves as an Urban Land Institute governor and trustee and is a former member of the executive committee. He also sits on the Trust for Public Land Real Estate Advisory Council. He previously served on the boards of the South Dallas Development Corporation and National Multi Housing Council. He is past chairman of the Dallas Real Estate Council, the North Texas Affordable Housing Coalition and the Dallas Ballet. Zavitkovsky earned his economics degree from the College of William and Mary and his master's degree from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service before serving as a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps and a Peace Corps director in Bolivia.

Houston

Bridget Ross
Loan Officer
ACCION Texas
Houston

Ross brings over 15 years of experience in finance and marketing to ACCION Texas, where she has been a loan officer since 2007. She has owned and operated her own business, as well as worked for several larger firms, both as a financial representative and as a loan officer. She serves on the Small Business Committee with the Northwest Houston Chamber of Commerce and as the director of the Business Economic Empowerment Ministry at The Church without Walls in Houston. Ross has a broad range of experience in identifying and communicating the need of funding for small- to mid-sized business entrepreneurs. She helps start-ups and existing businesses in the North Houston areas, and her clients have included day cares, restaurants and consulting firms. Ross earned her degree from Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma.

Winston Labbé
Vice President
Amegy Bank NA
Houston

As vice president in Amegy Bank's community development group, Labbé is responsible for providing financial services and resources to help small businesses grow and build net worth. Prior to joining Amegy Bank, Labbé held management positions with Whitney Bank and Wells Fargo Bank. He sits on the boards of several groups, including the Boy Scouts of America, Sam Houston Area Council and the Texas Business Alliance. Labbé earned his degree in finance from Texas Southern University. A U.S. Army veteran, he served four years of active duty as a finance and accounting specialist.

Marlon D. Mitchell
Executive Director
Houston Business Development Inc.
Houston

Mitchell heads Houston Business Development Inc. (HBD), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that combats community deterioration and stimulates economic growth in Houston. Established in 1986, HBD provides tools vital to the expansion and growth of small businesses, including access to capital and integrated support services tailored to the needs of emerging entrepreneurs. Formerly a commercial banking officer with First City National Bank, Mitchell has over 20 years of experience in commercial lending and community development financing. He has been certified as an Economic Development Finance Professional by the National Development Council and the Council for Urban Economic Development and holds a bachelor's degree in business administration. Mitchell is involved with several community and economic development organizations. He serves on the boards of the South Central YMCA, the Credit Coalition of Houston, the Texas Mezzanine Fund, the Gulf Coast Economic Development District and Empowerment Federal Credit Union, and sits on the JPMorgan Chase Community Advisory Board.

Jacqueline Taylor
Associate Region Director
Small Business Development Center Network
University of Houston
Houston

Taylor is the associate region director of the University of Houston's Small Business Development Center Network, an organization that provides free consulting and affordable training to help small businesses start up, grow and succeed. Taylor's business background comes from her years at Sun Dial and Panel Corp. in Fairfield, N.J., her family's manufacturing business. She is currently responsible for operations and quality at 15 Small Business Development Center locations in 32 counties in southeast Texas. Taylor writes a biweekly small business question-and-answer column that appears in the Houston Chronicle Sunday business section and also writes the UH center's monthly e-newsletter. Previous positions include assistant director of the Defense Procurement Technical Assistance Center at New Jersey Institute of Technology, director of the UH Procurement Technical Assistance Center and director of consulting at the UH Small Business Development Center. She is past president of the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers and currently serves on the business advisory board of Reliant Energy's Your HOUSTON Business magazine. In 1997, Taylor was named Minority Business Advocate of the Year by the Houston district office of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Taylor holds a bachelor's degree in education from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., and a master's degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix Online.

Richard A. Huebner
President
National Minority Supplier Development Council, Houston Affiliate
Houston

Huebner is president of the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council, one of 39 affiliates of the National Minority Supplier Development Council. With the council since 1985, he leads 233 major corporations and more than 1,100 minority business enterprises with a common mission to increase and expand business opportunities and growth for minorities. Under his direction, the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council has been recognized five times nationally as Council of the Year and, in 2007, was selected as Houston's Greatest Non-Profit Business Organization. Huebner serves on the advisory boards of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Port of Houston Authority, Texas Southern University, Prairie View A&M University, Anti-Defamation League, Houston Community College, Unity National Bank, ACCION Texas and the NASA–Johnson Space Center Joint Leadership Team. He is chair-elect of Leadership Houston, a graduate of the Center for Houston's Future and a senior fellow of the American Leadership Forum. He has received numerous awards and recognitions and was named to Best of the Decade in Supplier & Workforce Diversity by Minority Business News.

San Antonio

Annie Uribe Turner
Vice President and Business Banking Manager
Wells Fargo Bank
San Antonio

Turner is vice president and business banking manager at Wells Fargo Bank. She has worked for Wells Fargo for 29 years and has primarily been involved in helping small businesses meet their financial needs. Turner is on the board of the South Texas Business Fund (STBF), a financial resource of the city of San Antonio. As a certified loan development company, STBF administers key loan products of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Turner is currently on the boards of the North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and the Boys and Girls Club of Boerne. She is also actively involved with the National Association of Women Business Owners. Turner serves as an advisory director of the board and as a mentor of Business Careers High School's Academy of Finance, for which she has provided internships to several high school students. She is an alumnus of the Leadership Texas Class of 2000. She served on the board of the local Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, chairing the membership and business development committees, and currently is a member of the executive committee. Turner also helped establish the chamber's Access to Capital program, an effort that generated over $2 million in loans to local small businesses. Turner earned her degree from Baylor University.

Margo Weisz
Executive Director
PeopleFund
Austin

Weisz has served as executive director of PeopleFund, a community development financial institution, since 1995. Active in the community, she serves as a consultant on a variety of projects, including organizational assessments, training, and research on small and minority business development. Weisz is founder of affordable housing nonprofit PeopleTrust, serves on the board of the Alliance for Public Transportation and was the Austin coordinator for the German Marshall Fund's Transatlantic Cities program. She previously served as chairwoman for the Mayor's Small Business Task Force and was on the executive board of the Texas Association of Community Development Corporations. For her work, Weisz was recognized by the Austin Business Journal as a Profiles in Power winner in 2006; received the Ernst & Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2004; and in 2003, was chosen as Austinite of the Year at the Austin Under 40 Awards. In 2003, Weisz served as a Marshall Fellow, traveling to Europe to discuss trans-Atlantic relations. She has also taught a class on community development and social enterprise at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business. Weisz received her bachelor's degree from Colorado College and is a graduate of the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT.

Sandra Zayas
Corporate Trainer/Senior Loan Officer
ACCION Texas
San Antonio

Zayas is the corporate trainer for all new and existing ACCION Texas staff in operational lending issues. Concurrently, Zayas is a senior loan officer with ACCION, serving San Antonio and surrounding communities. She brings over 15 years of lending experience in both the commercial and microlending arenas. She has been with ACCION Texas for nine years and was previously in lending operations in the Rio Grande Valley. Zayas attended the University of Texas at Brownsville.

Blake Hastings
Vice President in Charge
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, San Antonio Branch
San Antonio

Hastings has served as vice president in charge of the San Antonio Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas since January 2007. He is responsible for the Bank's activities in the Central and South Texas region. He works closely with the branch's board of directors and provides leadership and oversight for the operating and administrative functions at the San Antonio office, with particular emphasis on its outreach activities to banks, businesses and community-based organizations. Prior to joining the Federal Reserve, Hastings served as executive director of the Free Trade Alliance of San Antonio, a public–private partnership for the promotion and development of international trade and foreign investment. He was also the export sales manager at Dorian International in White Plains, N.Y., and worked at the United States Trade & Development Agency as an evaluations/regional assistant for Asia–Pacific. Hastings holds a bachelor's degree in international economics and a master's degree in international business from George Washington University, Washington, D.C.