Note: This is the post #25, the final post in a weekly series of explanatory posts on the officials and agencies included in the President’s Cabinet. See the series introduction here.
Cabinet position: Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA)
Department: Small Business Administration
Current Administrator: Linda McMahon
Department Mission: “The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation. We recognize that small business is critical to our economic recovery and strength, to building America’s future, and to helping the United States compete in today’s global marketplace. Although SBA has grown and evolved in the years since it was established in 1953, the bottom line mission remains the same. The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses. Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U. S. Virgin Islands and Guam.” (Source)
Department Budget: $719 million for FY2017
Number of employees: 3,321
Primary Duties of the Administrator:
• Oversees all duties of the SBA.
• Establishes and maintains an external small business economic database for the purpose of providing the Congress and the Administration information on the economic condition and the expansion or contraction of the small business sector.
• Publishes annually a report giving a comparative analysis and interpretation of the historical trends of the small business sector.
Administrator Info
Administrator: Linda McMahon
Previous occupation: CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
Education: B.A. in French from East Carolina University.
Previous government experience: Served fourteen months on Connecticut’s State Board of Education.
Religious Affiliation: Catholic
Notable achievements:
• Was Connecticut’s Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010 and 2012.
• Co-founder and former CEO of Women’s Leadership LIVE, LLC.
• Recipient of the USO of Metropolitan Washington’s first ever “Legacy of Hope” award.
• Served as President of the Advisory Board for Operation Helmet, which provides comfortable and protective helmet pads for U.S. combat troops.
• Member of the Advisory Board for SoldierStrong, which provides scholarships and rehabilitation technology for returning veterans.
• Received the Humanitarian Award from the Catholic Big Sisters & Big Brothers in New York City.
• Received the Spirit of Hope Award from Liberation Programs in Norwalk, Connecticut.
Previous posts in this series: Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Education, Secretary of Labor, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Secretary of Transportation, Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Secretary of Homeland Security, White House Chief of Staff, U.S. Trade Representative, Director of National Intelligence, Representative of the United States to the United Nations, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Administrator of the Small Business Administration
