Karen Mills facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Karen Mills
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Official portrait, 2009
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| 23rd Administrator of the Small Business Administration | |
| In office April 6, 2009 – September 1, 2013 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
| Deputy | Marie Johns |
| Preceded by | Steve Preston Darryl Hairston (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Maria Contreras-Sweet Jeanne Hulit (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Karen Gordon
September 14, 1953 Wellesley, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Barry Mills |
| Education | Harvard University (BA, MBA) |
Karen Gordon Mills (born September 14, 1953) is an American businesswoman and former government official. She is best known for being the 23rd leader, or Administrator, of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA is a government agency that helps small businesses grow and succeed.
President Barack Obama chose Karen Mills for this role in 2008. She started her job on April 6, 2009. While she was in charge, her position became part of the President's Cabinet. This meant she had more power in making important decisions. She left her role on September 1, 2013. Since then, she has worked at Harvard Business School and written a book called Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream.
Contents
Early Life and School
Karen Mills was born on September 14, 1953. Her mother, Ellen Rubin, became the CEO of Tootsie Roll in 2015. Her father, Melvin Gordon, was the president and CEO of Tootsie Roll Industries for many years.
Karen went to Harvard University. She earned a degree in economics. Later, she also got her Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School. She was a top student there.
Karen Mills' Career Journey
In the 1980s and 1990s, Karen Mills worked with many small factories across the country. These factories made things like wood floors and refrigerator parts. She helped them grow and become successful.
Before leading the SBA, she was the president of MMP Group. This company helped businesses that made things like food and clothes. She also helped start Solera Capital, a company that invested in many businesses owned by women. One of these was Annie's Homegrown, which makes natural foods.
In 2007, the governor of Maine asked her to lead a group focused on improving Maine's economy. She also helped plan what to do with the land after a naval air station closed in Maine. She has also worked as a business advisor for McKinsey and Co. and for General Foods.
Helping Businesses Work Together
Karen Mills believes in something called "regional innovation clusters." This means that similar businesses in the same area can work together. For example, many tech companies in Silicon Valley share ideas and resources. This helps them all become stronger.
In 2005, she helped create new jobs in Maine after a naval base closed. She brought together boat builders, material makers, and university researchers. This partnership helped Maine's boat building industry become more competitive around the world.
She also helped create a group for specialty food producers in Maine. These businesses, like Peak Organic Beer, use local farm products. In 2008, she wrote a paper for the Brookings Institution about how these clusters can help local economies.
Leading the U.S. Small Business Administration
The Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953. It helps small businesses in four main ways:
- Making it easier to get money (loans).
- Helping them get government contracts.
- Teaching people how to start and run businesses.
- Providing help after disasters.
When Karen Mills became the SBA Administrator in 2009, it was a tough time for small businesses. It was right after a big economic downturn, and it was hard for businesses to get loans. She helped put into action parts of President Obama's plan to help the economy. This included making it easier for small businesses to get SBA-backed loans.
These changes worked quickly! The number of loans given out each week went up by more than 60 percent. She also helped pass the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. This law was very important for small businesses. It made loans bigger, helped businesses get more government contracts, and provided money for training programs.
In 2012, her job as SBA Administrator became a "Cabinet-level" position. This meant she could attend the President's Cabinet meetings and have a bigger say in national policies. She announced her resignation in 2013. President Obama praised her, saying her hard work helped small businesses create jobs and made the economy stronger.
During her time, the SBA helped provide over $106 billion in loans to more than 193,000 small businesses. Also, small businesses received $32 billion more in federal contracts than in the three years before she started.
After Her Time at the SBA
Since leaving the SBA, Karen Mills has been a Senior Fellow at Harvard Business School. She studies how small businesses get loans and how technology is changing this. She has written reports about how new businesses can help the middle class and improve the economy.
She also returned to lead MMP Group, Inc., a company that invests in different businesses. She is also a leader at Envoy Global, a company that helps with immigration services. Karen Mills is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has served on the board of directors for the Harvard Corporation, which helps manage Harvard University. She often writes for Fortune magazine about the economy and small businesses.
Books and Papers
Books
- Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream (2018)
Papers
- A New Categorization of the U.S. Economy: The Role of Supply Chain Industries in Innovation and Economic Performance (2017)
- The State of Small Business Lending: Innovation and Technology and Implications for Regulation (2017)
- Growth & Shared Prosperity (2015)
- The Challenge of Shared Prosperity (2015)
- The State of Small Business Lending: Credit Access During the Recovery and How Technology May Change the Game (2014)
- Clusters and Competitiveness: A New Federal Role for Stimulating Economies (2008)
Personal Life
Karen Mills is married to Barry Mills. He was the president of Bowdoin College from 2001 to 2015. They have three sons.
