SBA Administrator Addresses Merrimack Valley Chamber Tonight

U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet.

Maria Contreras-Sweet, the 24th administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and a member of President Obama’s cabinet, addresses members of the Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce tonight in Andover.

Contreras-Sweet attends the chamber’s Business Networking Mixer at The Savings Bank, 84 Main St. (route 28), Andover, at 5 p.m., according to Joseph J. Bevilacqua, chamber president.

In nominating Contreras-Sweet to lead SBA, President Obama said, “Maria was the driving force behind major job creation and major public investments in infrastructure and in housing (in California). She’s a champion of women-owned and family-owned businesses. And as someone who moved to California from Mexico as a young girl, and whose mother worked long hours to support Maria and her five siblings, she knows firsthand the challenges that working families and recent immigrants are facing.”

She served as California secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing. During the state’s energy crisis, she chaired the finance committee of California’s electrical power grid, CA-ISO, helping to stabilize the volatile energy market following California’s rolling blackouts. Upon re-entering the private sector, Contreras-Sweet founded a successful community bank in downtown Los Angeles focused on financing small- and mid-size businesses.

Tickets are $10 each for members of $20 for non-members. To register to attend, call (978) 686-0900 or by email [email protected].