Isabel Guzman
{{Short description|American government official}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Isabel Guzman
| image = Isabella Casillas Guzman, SBA Administrator (cropped).png
| office = 27th Administrator of the Small Business Administration
| president = Joe Biden
| deputy = Dilawar Syed
| term_start = March 17, 2021
| term_end = January 20, 2025
| predecessor = Jovita Carranza
| successor = Kelly Loeffler
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1970|1|8}}
| birth_place = Burbank, California, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| education = University of Pennsylvania (BS)
| caption = Guzman in 2024
}}
Isabella Casillas Guzman{{Cite web|date=December 2, 2020|title=Small business advocate Isabella Casillas Guzman named California Steward Leader of the Year|url=https://cafwd.org/news/small-business-advocate-isabella-casillas-guzman-named-california-steward-leader-of-the-year/|access-date=January 7, 2021|website=California Forward|language=en-US}} (born January 8, 1970){{cite web |url=https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/03/28/appointments-6-3 |title=Governor Newsom Announces Appointments 3.28.19 |publisher=Governor of California |date=March 28, 2019 |access-date=January 7, 2021}} is an American government official who served as the administrator of the Small Business Administration in the Biden administration from 2021 to 2025. She assumed office on March 17, 2021.{{Cite web|first=Jennifer Epstein|last=Bloomberg|date=January 7, 2021|title=Biden reportedly picks California official Isabel Guzman to head SBA|newspaper=The Boston Globe|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/01/07/business/biden-reportedly-picks-california-official-isabel-guzman-head-sba/|access-date=January 7, 2021|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=April 22, 2020|title=Supporting California's Small Businesses in Covid-19 Recovery|url=https://ncg.org/events/supporting-californias-small-businesses-covid-19-recovery|access-date=January 8, 2021|website=Northern California Grantmakers|language=en|archive-date=January 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110012457/https://ncg.org/events/supporting-californias-small-businesses-covid-19-recovery|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|last=Bloomberg|first=Jennifer Epstein|title=Biden Picks California Official Isabel Guzman to Head SBA|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-small-business/biden-picks-california-official-isabel-guzman-to-head-sba/2021/01/07/c6b1b354-5123-11eb-a1f5-fdaf28cfca90_story.html|date=January 7, 2021|access-date=January 8, 2021|issn=0190-8286}} She is the fifth Latina woman to ever have served in the Cabinet of the United States.{{Cite news |date=16 March 2021 |title=El Senado confirma a Isabel Guzmán, única latina del gabinete de Biden |language=es |trans-title=The Senate confirms Isabel Guzmán, the only Latina in Biden's cabinet |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/espanol/eeuu/articulo/2021-03-16/el-senado-confirma-a-isabel-guzman-unica-latina-del-gabinete-de-biden |access-date=26 October 2022}}
Early life and education
Guzman was born in Burbank, California.{{Cite web |last=Cheek |first=Laura |date=October 15, 2018 |title=Larta Celebrates Diversity Through Latinx Heritage Month |url=https://www.larta.org/blog/larta-celebrates-diversity-through-latinx-heritage-month/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108124342/https://larta.org/blog/larta-celebrates-diversity-through-latinx-heritage-month/ |archive-date=8 January 2021 |access-date=January 7, 2021 |website=Larta Institute |language=en-US}} Guzman is of Mexican ancestry. She hails from four generations of Texans who originally fled the Mexican Revolution from the states of Aguascalientes and Jalisco. In the 1960s, Guzman's father moved from Texas to Los Angeles. According to a Larta Institute profile, Guzman claims her heritage also includes Jewish, German and possibly Chinese ancestry. Her parents owned a small business.{{cite web |url=https://www.sba.gov/person/isabella-casillas-guzman |title=Isabella Casillas Guzman |website=U.S. Small Business Administration |date=March 31, 2021 |publisher=Small Business Administration |access-date=May 23, 2021}}
Guzman received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business.
Career
File:Isabel Guzman swearing in (51131106150) (cropped).jpg in 2021]]
Guzman was studio manager and managing partner at Miauhaus Studios from 1998 to 2002, continuing as managing partner through 2010. She served as a deputy appointments secretary for California Governor Gray Davis from 2002 to 2003. She was manager and advisor to founder at Illulian from 2003 to 2005, taking a sabbatical in 2004 to consult during the launch of Fortius Holdings. She was director of strategic initiatives and advisor to founding chair at ProAmerica Bank from 2009 to 2014, then joined the Small Business Administration in 2014 as deputy chief of staff. From 2017 to 2019, she worked as an independent consultant with clients such as the Larta Institute, before co-founding and directing GovContractPros in 2018.{{Cite web|date=2019-03-28|title=Governor Newsom Announces Appointments 3.28.19|url=https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/03/28/appointments-6-3/|access-date=2021-03-18|website=California Governor|language=en}}
Beginning April 2019, Guzman served as the director of California's Office of the Small Business Advocate, a department within the California Governor's Office of Economic Development.{{Cite web|first=Patricia|last=Guadalupe|date=November 6, 2020|title=How Business Incubators Help Hispanic Small Businesses Get Off the Ground|url=https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/how-business-incubators-help-hispanic-small-businesses-get-off-the-ground|access-date=2021-01-07|website=www.legalzoom.com|language=en}}
On January 7, 2021, it was announced that Guzman would be President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for administrator of the Small Business Administration.{{Cite news|first=Jennifer|last=Epstein|date=January 7, 2021|title=Biden Picks California Official Isabel Guzman to Head SBA|language=en|work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-07/biden-picks-california-official-isabel-guzman-to-head-sba|access-date=January 7, 2021}} Guzman was reported out of the Senate Small Business Committee by a 15–5 vote, and confirmed on March 16, 2021, in an 81–17 vote of the United States Senate.{{Cite news|first=Alex|last=Rogers|date=March 16, 2021|title=Senate confirms Isabel Guzman to lead Small Business Administration|language=en|work=cnn.com|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/16/politics/isabel-guzman-senate-confirmation-small-business-administration/index.html|access-date=March 16, 2021}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [https://www.sba.gov/person/isabella-casillas-guzman Biography] at the United States Small Business Administration
- {{C-SPAN}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=Jovita Carranza}}
{{s-ttl|title=Administrator of the Small Business Administration|years=2021–2025}}
{{s-aft|after=Kelly Loeffler}}
{{s-end}}
{{SBA}}
{{Biden cabinet}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guzman, Isabel}}
Category:21st-century American women civil servants
Category:American people of Mexican descent
Category:American people of German descent
Category:American people of Jewish descent
Category:Administrators of the Small Business Administration
Category:Biden administration cabinet members
Category:Hispanic and Latino American members of the Cabinet of the United States
Category:Hispanic and Latino American women in politics
Category:People from Burbank, California
Category:University of Pennsylvania alumni