Junta Directiva
Nuestra junta directiva está formada por profesionales con alta experiencia en pequeñas empresas cuyos antecedences y perspectivas informan la dirección de Small Business Majority. Cada miembro ha cultivado una gran cantidad de empresas exitosas y sin fines de lucro y/o ha trabajado extensamente en políticas públicas de pequeñas empresas, lo que lo/la ha equipado con el conocimiento y la experiencia para ayudar a guiar a la organización, proporcionar información valiosa y asesorarnos en nuestras decisiones más importantes.
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. LaJuanna is also chair of Alexandria Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors, an incoming board member for The Campagna Center, the incoming DC Leadership Council Co-Chair for Vital Voices 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. Additionally, she is the Alabama Representative for the IRS Taxpayer Advocacy Panel.
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.
Michael Negron
Michael Negron is currently a fellow at Groundwork Collaborative and a senior fellow for economic opportunity on the Inclusive Economy team at the Center For American Progress. He has served in public policy roles at the federal, state, and municipal levels. Most recently, he worked in the Biden-Harris White House as a Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and as a member of the National Economic Council, where he coordinated federal agencies to develop and implement initiatives to support small business, eliminate junk fees, and reduce the burden of medical and student debt. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Administration, Michael was the Assistant Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity under Governor JB Pritzker, where he spearheaded the establishment of roughly $1 billion in COVID emergency relief programs for small businesses, nonprofits, and local governments. Michael also previously served as the chief of policy to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and served in the Obama-Biden Administration at the White House Office of Management and Budget and U.S. Department of Defense. Michael is a former U.S. Naval Officer and lives with his wife and children in Arlington, Virginia.
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.
Dilawar Syed
Dilawar Syed is an entrepreneur and former U.S. cabinet official whose leadership has spanned various public and private sector organizations, including as Deputy Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration and Special Envoy for Commercial Affairs at the State Department. In a decades-long career in Silicon Valley, Dilawar led and scaled ventures in AI, software, and consumer web. After his public service, he is joining the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin as Senior Economic Policy Advisor, to lead a new initiative on advancing U.S. business competitiveness, and as faculty at the LBJ School and UT’s McCombs School of Business.
Dilawar’s most recent role as SBA Deputy Administrator began with a bipartisan vote of the U.S. Senate. Dilawar advanced the Biden Administration's priorities for small businesses by democratizing access to capital, government contracting, and entrepreneurship training, especially in the underserved and rural communities. He helped coordinate SBA’s disaster response after Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the Southeast, the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, MD, and the wildfires in Maui, HI.
As Special Envoy for Commercial & Business Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, Dilawar served as America’s top commercial diplomat, championing U.S. companies in markets abroad and strengthening U.S. competitiveness. He mobilized private sector support for Ukraine after Russia's invasion, advocated for strategic deals in advanced tech, energy, aviation, and defense, and negotiated market access in his 24 bilateral engagements across the globe.
Dilawar has previously served as CEO of Lumiata, an AI healthcare company backed by Khosla Ventures and BlueCross BlueShields, and as President at Freshworks, where he founded the software company's North America business. Freshworks had a successful IPO in 2021. Earlier, he held leadership roles at Yahoo! and Siebel Systems. Dilawar started his career in management consulting at Ernst & Young and Deloitte Consulting.
Dilawar’s civic entrepreneurship has spanned local, state, and federal governments. Appointed by President Obama in 2010 to the White House Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, he led engagement with small businesses during the economic recovery. In 2017, he launched the California Entrepreneurship Task Force with the Governor’s Office to bridge Silicon Valley with rural communities and promote inclusive entrepreneurship.
Dilawar holds an MBA from The Wharton School and a BA in Computer Science and Economics from The University of Texas at Austin.
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.
