What are Regional Councils?
AEO’s Regional Councils are meetings of local microbusiness champions (government, private, foundations, non-profit, etc.) who want to elevate the issues facing microbusinesses in their regions to all local ecosystem stakeholders so that together we can focus on solving the most pressing challenges facing our communities. Ultimately, our goal is to provide local solutions to regional issues by convening key stakeholders in a series of virtual and in-person events throughout the year.
Three Ways to Participate
Become a Member:
participate in discussions, share learnings, and solve problems.
Sponsor a Region:
underwrite costs, share the work you are doing, and/or brand your organizations work to the ecosystem
Be a Convener:
host one of the in-person summits at your facility
Regional Councils Roadshow
Coming this Fall. Dates and cities TBA.
The Regions
West
Alaska
Arizona
California
Hawaii
Idaho
Nevada
Oregon
Washington
Central
Arkansas
Colorado
Louisiana
Montana
New Mexico
North Dakota
Oklahoma
South Dakota
Texas
Utah
Wyoming
Midwest
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
Ohio
Wisconsin
South
Alabama
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
Mississippi
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
MidAtlantic
Delaware
District of Columbia
Maryland
Pennsylvania
Virginia
West Virginia
Northeast
Connecticut
Massachusetts
Maine
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Rhode Island
Vermont
Objective
Our mission is to elevate the issues facing microbusinesses, particularly those underserved, in our regions to all local ecosystem stakeholders so that together, we can solve the pressing challenges within our community.
The Regional Councils will seek to find pragmatic approaches to these challenges by: highlighting best practices; collaboratively devising strategies; and, advocating for the necessary interventions.
Our commitment is to ensure that knowledge and insights are shared with the larger ecosystem, thereby fostering a collective understanding of microbusiness interests and driving positive change across the country.
Meet the AEO Regional Council Leadership
Carolina Martinez
West
Chief Executive Officer |
California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity (CAMEO)
Ron Fong
West
Executive Director |
Asian Pacific Islander Small Business Collaborative
Wendy Baumann
Midwest
President & Chief Visionary Officer |
The Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation
Bridget Ross
Central
Vice President of Business Support |
LiftFund
Gustavo Lasala
Central
President & Chief Executive Officer |
PeopleFund
Elizabeth Wilson
South
Executive Director |
Georgia Micro Enterprise Network, Inc.
Hal Bowling
South
Co-Founder & Executive Director | LAUNCH Chattanooga
Inez Long
South
President & Chief Executive Officer |
BBIF
Ray Pennie
South
Chief of Business Advisory Services |
Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs, Inc. (ACE)
Emi Reyes
MidAtlantic
Chief Executive Officer |
Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC)
James Bason
Northeast
President & Chief Executive Officer |
TruFund Financial Services, Inc.
Samira Cook Gaines
Northeast
Managing Director of Strategic Partnerships |
Rising Tide Capital