On Thursday, June 13, Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 33 million small businesses, will travel to Chicago, Illinois. The visit is set to coincide with the Opportunity Finance Network’s (OFN) Small Business Finance Forum and Pride Month celebrations while also marking the start of the SBA’s Small Business Boom tour.

In the morning, Administrator Guzman will join OFN President and CEO Harold Pettigrew for a fireside chat at OFN’s Small Business Finance Forum. Following this discussion, she will lead a closed roundtable on child care to emphasize the critical role small businesses play in this sector.

Subsequently, Administrator Guzman will visit mHUB hard tech and advanced manufacturing innovation center. There she will engage with leadership staff and manufacturers who have utilized the Innovation Center's resources to expand their operations.

Administrator Guzman will then commence the SBA’s Small Business Boom tour by visiting three local LGBTQI+ owned small businesses in celebration of Pride Month. Her first stop will be at a local landscaping business followed by a bakery and cafe celebrating its soft opening with a ceremonial ribbon cutting. The final visit will be to a lighting manufacturing company where she plans to highlight how President Biden’s Investing in America agenda has boosted domestic manufacturing.

The OFN Fireside Chat, mHUB tour, and visits to small businesses are open to media members who RSVP to theodora.lake@sba.gov.