Daughter of a veteran Geri Aglipay named SBA administrator for IL region
President Biden on January 27 announced the appointment of Geraldine ‘Geri’ Sanchez Aglipay as Small Business Administration (SBA) regional administrator for Region 5.
As Region 5 administrator, she will oversee SBA programs, offices, and operations in the Great Lakes region, serving Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
Aglipay is a second-generation American and a daughter of a veteran. She has over 20 years of experience in workforce, entrepreneurship, and economic development and is passionate about strengthening collaborative innovation across sectors and industries to create more equitable paths to financial security for small business owners and the self-employed, especially to create a level playing field for socially and economically disadvantaged communities.
Prior to the SBA, she served as director of the Midwest Region and National Manager of Women’s Entrepreneurship for Small Business Majority, where she expanded and directed the organization’s strategic education programs, policy, research, and financial development efforts in the Midwest and oversaw women’s entrepreneurship nationwide to address disparities. She worked with the Asian Health Coalition and GetCoveredIllinois.gov to help roll out the Affordable Care Act in underserved areas.
She is a graduate of B.S. Communications, Health Sciences from Bradley University.
Aglipay is a member of KAYA 2012 National Leadership Team, Filipinos for Obama; and Asian Americans for Obama, IL. She served on the Biden-Harris Economic Policy Committee and working groups.
She is known to champion Asian American small businesses across the U.S. In a message celebrating AAPI Heritage Month, she said: “As engines of neighborhood commerce, economic activity, and job creation across the United States and in Illinois, AAPI small businesses must be included in the conversation addressing the racial inequities that are holding us back. For this reason and more, we must support them this month and all year round, and I am proud to join the state of Illinois in shining a light on the challenges and opportunities facing this community.
A White House statement says Biden’s latest round of appointees (which includes Aglipay) will be critical to the “President’s efforts to rebuild communities most impacted by the pandemic, the economic recovery, and climate change. They bring deep expertise in their issue areas as well as critical relationships with federal, state, tribal, and local leaders. And, consistent with the President’s commitment to building an administration that looks like America, these regional appointees represent the diversity of America and the communities they serve.”
© The FilAm 2022
