Board of Directors
Our board of directors consists of seasoned small business professionals whose experiences and perspectives inform the direction of Small Business Majority. Each member has cultivated a host of successful business and non-profit ventures and/or has worked extensively in small business public policy, which has equipped him/her with the knowledge and expertise to help guide the organization, provide valuable insight and advise us on our most important decisions.
LaJuanna Russell, Chair
LaJuanna Russell is founder and president of Business Management Associates, Inc (BMA), a business process and human capital management firm. Ms. Russell possesses more than 20 years of experience in all aspects of business operations and government contracting, serving federal and state governments and international entities. Ms. Russell founded BMA in 2006 to continue the initial software life cycle development work she began during her consulting career, but with an emphasis on the integration of people and process. She has developed BMA from the ground up, establishing the technical and operational infrastructure, and the employee and client-focused culture her firm is known for. BMA was recently named to Inc.'s 5000 List of the fastest-growing private companies in America for 2015.
In addition to her certification as a Six Sigma Green Belt, LaJuanna has been a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program Scholar and is now a Virtual Business Advisor to the program, providing advisory and strategic support to a growth group. She earned an accelerated M.B.A. with concentrations in International Business and Finance from the George Washington University, and a B.A. in Communication Studies from Virginia Tech University.
Talibah Bayles
Talibah Bayles is a Birmingham, Alabama native and national business advocate on a mission to bring genuine solutions for ignored small businesses. She is the driving force behind TMB Tax & Financial Services, a full-service tax advisory & small business financial wellness firm with clients across the United States. Talibah is also the Founder & CEO of Access Granted, Inc.—a 501(c)(3) with a mission to advance economic opportunity for women and minority-owned businesses.
In February 2022, Talibah launched the Black & Bankable CEO Podcast, a show devoted to accomplishing her personal mission of closing the small business financial literacy gap for Black and minority-owned businesses.
Talibah is a 2021 graduate of the Small Business Administration (SBA) Emerging Leaders and the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO). She currently serves as a chartering member of the NAWBO Alabama Chapter and member of NAWBO’s National Advocacy Group. Ms. Bayles also served as a member of the City of Birmingham’s Inaugural Small Business Council (SBC) from 2019-2021.
Kenneth Henderson, Esq.
Ken Henderson is a partner at a global law firm, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, where he represents large, medium and small businesses. He provides day-to-day business law advice to public and private firms in the U.S. and abroad. Ken’s clients come from industries including fund management, family office structures, financial services, technology and customer services. His corporate and securities transactional experience is focused on mergers and acquisitions, public and private financings and domestic and international joint ventures.
He earned his J.D. cum laude from New York University where he was a Root Tilden Scholar and a member of the Order of the Coif. He received his B.A. with high honors in political science and economics from Auburn University.
Paul Quintero
Paul Quintero is the Chief Executive Officer of Ascendus, a leading Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that empowers low- to moderate-income (LMI) business owners with access to capital and financial education. During his tenure at Ascendus, he has expanded the organization’s service footprint from New York state to the entire country, transitioned to new technology platforms to support lending and fundraising operations, and successfully launched new lending products. Prior to becoming CEO, he served as Ascendus’ Chief Financial Officer.
Prior to joining Ascendus, Paul served for three years as a CPA in the audit division of Deloitte & Touche, spent seven years as an investment banker on Wall Street and four years in local community redevelopment focused on commercial revitalization of Harlem and Upper Manhattan. He earned his M.B.A. in Finance at Columbia Business School, where he was selected as a Robert A. Toigo Fellow, and holds a B.A. in Accounting and Business Administration from the University of Washington, where he was selected as a Washington State Scholar.
Dafina Williams
Dafina Williams is the Executive Vice President, Chief Public Policy Officer and Head of Government Affairs at Opportunity Finance Network (OFN). With a keen focus on advocacy, she drives the organization’s efforts in public policy, legislative affairs, and regulatory initiatives. Prior to assuming her current role, Dafina played a pivotal role in shaping OFN’s policy agenda, concentrating on federal appropriations, small business policy and fair lending practices.
Dafina serves on several boards, including the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders (NAAHL), CDFI Coalition, National Association of Community Economic Development Agencies (NACEDA), First Children’s Finance, and the Responsible Business Lending Coalition. She also lends her expertise to the New Markets Tax Credit Advisory Board of Self-Help Ventures Fund and the Community Advisory Board of the American Fintech Council.
Dafina graduated magna cum laude from Temple University, where she received a BBA in Economics.
