C-Suite Wednesday — Coleman 2017 Mission-Based Small Business Lenders of the Year

October 11, 2017

By Bob Coleman
Editor, C-Suite Wednesday

C-Suite Wednesday — Coleman 2017 Mission-Based Small Business Lenders of the Year

About the 2017 Coleman small business lending professional awards

The Coleman Report is awarding 2017 small business lending professional awards in six categories.

  • Main Street Lenders of the Year
  • SBA 7(a) Lenders of the Year
  • SBA 504 Lenders of the Year
  • Rural Small Business Lenders of the Year
  • Mission-Based Small Business Lenders of the Year
  • Emerging Leader Small Business Lenders of the Year (Under 40)

Winners are chosen from community nominations.

Winners will be honored at an event, date and location to be announced shortly.

Award winners are only eligible for one award per year.

We will be announcing the final winners next week:

  • Coleman 2017 Rural Small Business Lenders of the Year — Mon, October 16
  • Coleman 2017 SBA 7(a) Lenders of the Year — Tue, October 17

Congratulations to this year’s Coleman Mission-Based Small Business Lenders of the Year!

Logan Birch, President & CEO, Alaska Growth Capital, Alaska

Alaska Growth Capital was founded in 1997 as Alaska’s first Business and Industrial Development Corporation and has deployed over $500 million of capital throughout Alaska, Montana, Hawaii, Washington, and Idaho. Alaska Growth Capital is a Native CDFI and a subsidiary of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, Alaska’s largest regional native corporation, representing approximately 13,000 Inupiaq shareholders.

Alaska Growth Capital is committed to help under-served rural communities create jobs and grow their economies by providing business loans, consulting and advisory services, and other creative programs that develop and promote new rural-based entrepreneurs. – Logan Birch, President & CEO, Alaska Growth Capital

Rachel Baranick, SBA Deputy District Director, Orange County and Inland Empire, California

Rachel Baranick is the Deputy District Director of the Orange County / Inland Empire District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration with service responsibility for the counties of Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino in Southern California. In fiscal year 2016, the Orange County / Inland Empire District Office approved 2,029 loans generating over $1.4 billion in financial assistance to small businesses. In addition, the Orange County / Inland Empire District Office awarded 53 8(a) contracts for a total of $72 million.

As Deputy District Director, Ms. Baranick is responsible for the delivery of SBA programs and services to approximately 6 million people in the tri-county area, which covers over 28,000 square miles. Small businesses in the geographic area comprise in excess of 600,000, representing 16% of the total California business population. Ms. Baranick is also responsible for the management and oversight of SBA Resource Partners including three Women’s Business Centers, three SCORE chapters and a Regional Lead Center with a network of five Small Business Development Centers and three satellite locations. The district office and its resource partners provided counseling and training assistance to approximately 28,000 clients in fiscal year 2016.

Rachel joined the SBA in 1988 as a Business Development Specialist for the Inland Empire. She moved to the loan servicing department in 1992 as a Loan Specialist and became Chief of Liquidation in 1995. She has served as the Deputy District Director since 1997 for the Orange County / Inland Empire District and most recently as the Acting District Director for the New York City District Office.

Rachel grew up in the Los Angeles area, where her father owned a small business. She graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and has subsequently completed graduate courses at California State University, Fullerton.

Mitchell Blue, Senior Vice President, Commercial Lending, SBA Product Manager, Traverse City State Bank, Michigan

Along with making a huge impact in the SBA world, Mitch has also made a positive impact in the Traverse City community as well.

  • Repeat presenter for Traverse City SCORE Chapter “Meet the Lender Series”
  • Frequently utilizes Venture North as a lending option for customers — Venture North is a regional non‐profit that provides business financing and other services across a 10‐county region
  • Frequently utilizes Cherryland Electric USDA Revolving Loan Fund as a lending option for customers;
  • Guided Traverse City State Bank as SBA Product Manager to Michigan Community Bank Lender of the Year in 2011
  • Recipient of “40 under 40” Award from the Traverse City Business News four of the last eight years
  • Assisted local YMCA with obtaining Grand Traverse County Municipal bond Assisted Goodwill with obtaining financing to construct Goodwill Inn (homeless shelter)

It is a pleasure for our CDC and staff to work with such a passionate lender.
Julie Parker, President, Grow Michigan

Mary Peters, Associate Director, University of Texas SBDC, Texas

Our program had another successful year in 2016. San Antonio and surrounding communities received expert training in all areas of small business and quality one-on-one assistance and guidance. The UTSA SBDC believes this was possible through our commitment to the Values Based Leadership VBL Model. The VBL approach is the belief that our actions must align with and reflect our organization’s values. Our SBDC business advisors, management staff and support staff believe that our values of Integrity, Service, Excellence and Innovation are the driving force behind how we operate.

Linda Rusche, Director, SBA Office of Risk Management (Retired)

Retired Director, OCRM implemented SBA’s redesigned approach to oversight and risk management for a portfolio of 300,000 Government-guaranteed loans representing a value of over $100 billion. Developed and managed SBA’s annual strategic plan for lender oversight and risk mitigation. Provided leadership for a diverse team of federal employees, econometric analysts, auditors, risk and compliance specialists and contractors overseeing the SBA lending activities of 4,000 banks, 250 SBA-supervised Certified Development Companies; (CDCs), 14 Small Business Lending Companies (SBLCs), 75 Non-Federally Regulated Lenders (NFRLs), and over 100 Community Advantage (CA) approved lenders.