With the Small Business Development Center officially open and serving the southwest suburbs, the Arab-American Business and Professional Association will now expand its advisory board with diverse leaders to help guide ABPA’s current and future initiatives to new heights.  The newest members include State Senator Willie Preston, MWRD Commissioners Mariyana Spyropoulos and Eira L. Corral Sepúlveda, and longtime union leader Deborah Cosey- Lane. “We are very fortunate to have an outstanding advisory board that was formed in 2016”, says ABPA’s Advisory Chair and Bolingbrook Mayor Mary Alexandra-Basta. “ABPA has evolved tremendously since then and we need new leaders with different perspectives to ensure our organization is trending in the right direction for many years to come.”

The newest members will be joining a current advisory board of esteemed professionals led by Chief Nuclear Officer and President at Constellation Energy Dave Rhoades, VP Associate General Counsel at IBM Donna Haddad, and Partner at Sidley Austin LLP Imad Qasim. “With new ideas comes new leaders to bring our vision to life” says ABPA President Rush Darwish. “What is most important is we welcome professionals from different backgrounds and communities to take ABPA to the next level to help grow our economy in Illinois”. Some of the current advisory board members will also serve on the SBCD advisory board to build the infrastructure, curriculum, and directly advise clients with their business goals. Learn more about SBDC at ABPA and sign up for a one-on-one consult today.