September 26, 2008
WASHINGTON—The Office of Small Business Development Centers (OSBDC) is honored to announce Jill J. Johnson as a newly appointed member of the National SBDC Advisory Board. Jill was appointed by then-Acting Administrator Jovita Carranza on June 30, 2008, to a three-year term as a board member.
The National SBDC Advisory Board currently has nine members appointed by the Administrator. Each of the nine members represents an SBA region. Jill will represent Region 5. The current board consists of members from the small business community and universities. The board reports directly to the associate administrator of the Office of Small Business Development Centers (AA/OSBDC). The board’s duties and responsibilities include advising, recommending and conferring with the AA/OSBDC on such matters as:
- Evaluating the aims, objectives and goals of the SBDC program;
- Introducing proposals for strengthening the SBDC program
- Determining how to obtain maximum private sector involvement in the SBDC program
- Interacting with state (local) SBDC Advisory Boards
Jill is the president and founder of Johnson Consulting Services, a management consulting firm based in Minneapolis specializing in strategy development.
An award-winning management consultant since 1982, Jill helps her clients develop business plans, marketing plans and market-based strategies for growth. Her clients are located throughout the United States, as well as in Europe and Asia. She has worked with a wide array of corporations, government agencies and non-profit organizations.
Jill has been quoted on a variety of management issues in national publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Money Magazine, Entrepreneur, Nation’s Business and Success. She has appeared on radio and television programs for business on Minnesota Public Radio, CNBC and USA Cable. Jill has published a number of articles on strategy development and is a popular speaker.
Jill received a prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) and was named one of SBA’s National Small Business Advocates of the Year in 1994. She is one of only a few people nationwide to have ever received this dual honor from the SBA.
Jill is an experienced leader who has been a member of the board of directors and executive committees of a variety of non-profit and business organizations. She served on the national board of directors of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) and was the president of the Minnesota Chapter of NAWBO. She was a member of the SBA’s National Advisory Council.
Jill served on the board of directors of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and chaired its Small Business Policy Council. She also served on the Greater Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, was on the Chamber board’s executive committee, and chaired its Small Business Committee. She served for nearly a decade on the board of directors of the prestigious James J. Hill Reference Library and was on the board’s executive committee. She was elected as a Minnesota delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business in Washington, D.C.
Prior to founding Johnson Consulting Services in 1987, Jill worked for the management consulting division of Laventhol & Horwath. At the time, L&H was a major international CPA firm and was one of the world’s largest consulting firms. Jill also previously worked for the international consulting firm of Batten, Batten, Hudson & Swab, founded by Joe Batten, the author of the first management book to be on The New York Times bestseller list and one of the first members of the National Speakers Association’s Hall of Fame.
Jill has a B.S. degree in Business Administration from Drake University with a double major in marketing and management. She also received an MBA from Drake University.
For more information about the SBDC Program or to locate the SBDC nearest you, visit online at www.sba.gov/sbdc. You can contact Jill at her website www.jcs-usa.com
