In this episode, Fanning Institute Director Matt Bishop and SBCD Continuing Education Specialist Molly Knight talk with guests from throughout Georgia about how their businesses and leadership programs adapted to the virtual world in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Roundtable Guests include: 

Deborah Cottle: SBDC Client Deborah Cottle is the owner and operator of retail store Cottle and Gunn in downtown St. Marys. Celebrating seven years this spring, Cottle and Gunn offers the wares of 27 local artisans, furniture, home decor, one of a kind vintage items and two paint lines (Annie Sloan chalk paint and Miss Mustard Seed’s milk paint). In 2020, Deborah expanded her retail store’s offerings online and has experienced tremendous growth. In addition to e-commerce, her online presence includes weekly live painting tutorials and classes to the DIY customer. Cottle and Gunn is a Georgia Grown shop and takes pride in offering Georgia produced products. You can read more about its small business success story here: https://news.uga.edu/sbdc-helps-cottle-gunn-during-covid-19/

Alex Villanueva: Alex has served as president of the Hispanic Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs (HYPE) since September 2020. HYPE is a nonprofit division of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce dedicated to serve as the main resource of Georgia’s aspiring future leaders for young professionals ages 21-35. Their mission is to connect, develop, and empower young professionals and entrepreneurs through community, economic, and leadership opportunities. Outside of his volunteer service through HYPE, Alex is a senior in the cyber security technology consulting practice of Ernst & Young LLP (EY). Since Alex started his career in cyber security during March 2020, he has had a wide array of experiences consisting of PMO for Cyber Managed Services (i.e. IT Asset Management, Threat Exposure Management, and Identity Access Management), Cyber Program Support, and conducting a Cyber Program Assessments (CPA) spanning across the financial services, education, quick service food, manufacturing, and media industries. 

Laura Mathis: Laura Mathis is the executive director of the Middle Georgia Regional Commission in Macon. Prior to joining the Regional Commission in 2007, Laura served as the county manager in Wilkinson County. Laura is the current vice-president of the Georgia Association of Regional Commissions and is a member of the Air Force Materiel Command Civic Leader Program representing Robins Air Force Base. The Middle Georgia Regional Commission provides assistance to local governments in the areas of local government, economic development, planning, aging services, GIS/technology services and workforce development. Middle Georgia Regional Commission is one of 12 regional organizations in Georgia and serves 11 counties and 20 cities with a total population of 496,288. The Middle Georgia Regional Commission also provides administrative support to the Central Georgia Joint Development Authority, Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition and the Middle Georgia Regional Leadership Champions leadership program.