Lori Gillen
Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Entrepreneurial Development
U.S. Small Business Administration
Washington, DC
Lori Gillen has more than 30 years of experience in the field of economic and business development working with government, non-profit organizations, and the entrepreneurial sector to advance economic and business development policies and strategies that create jobs and revitalize communities.
She currently serves as the Deputy Associate Administrator for the Office of Entrepreneurial Development (OED) at SBA where she shares responsibility with the Associate Administrator, Allen Gutierrez, for leading a division of SBA that supports more than 1.4 million small businesses every year with mentoring and training through a nationwide network of partners and resources, including Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, SCORE, Regional Innovation Clusters, Emerging Leaders, and SBA’s on-line Learning Center.
Prior to joining SBA in 2014, Lori co-founded a Women’s Business Center, ran her own MBE-certified consulting business, and led high impact economic development initiatives in both Montgomery County and Baltimore Maryland.
Lori is a strong supporter and alumnus of IEDC. Fun fact: she was one of the first people hired by Jeff Finkle in the late 1980’s when IEDC was known as the National Council for Urban Economic Development, to direct the training program for economic development officials across the country.
She earned an MBA in Financial Management from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in Urban Affairs from George Washington University. She has written or contributed to more than a dozen publications, reports and articles on a variety of economic and business development subjects.