Our experts come from a variety of backgrounds and provide guidance to businesses across industries. Read the introductions below to gain insight into each of our counselors.
SBDC Staff
Bill Reagan, Executive Director (Business Operations, Regional Resources, Strategic Community Contacts, Growth-Stage Businesses)
Bill founded Alexandria SBDC in 1996 with backing from City of Alexandria elected officials. As the Executive Director, he connects clients with broad cross-section of expertise and resources and works closely with economic development partners, City government and the business and financial community. Prior to founding the SBDC, Bill was an officer in the U.S. Army and, after leaving active duty, he held positions in sales and small business marketing. Bill has a B.B.A. in Natural Resource Economics from the University of Texas at Austin.
Gloria Flanagan, Assistant Director (General Business, City Processes, Government Contracting)
Gloria has been with the center since 2000 and has counseled hundreds of small business owners in areas such as startup, city processes, and federal/state procurement. Prior to her employment with the Alexandria SBDC, she practiced law for the federal government and worked with several nonprofit organizations and for an Alexandria City Council member. Gloria has a Bachelor’s degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and a JD from Georgetown University Law Center.
SBDC Consultants
Jack Parker, Business Analyst (Financial Planning & Capital)
Jack has variety of experience in financial management and commercial banking. He spent ten years as a department head for business development, marketing and advertising with two commercial banks. He also served as the CFO for a several firms and has extensive experience with financial reporting, financial management, asset management, and business planning. In 1996, Jack started The Parker Group to provide financial and marketing consulting to businesses in Northern Virginia. He attended the University of Virginia and completed graduate courses from the American Institute of Banking.
Emily McMahan, Director – Capitol Post (Veterans’ Issues)
Emily is focused on helping transitioning service members and other veterans with fostering new businesses and developing their careers. Emily is a West Point graduate who served as a military police officer in Iraq, Afghanistan, and at the Pentagon after 9/11. After five years of active duty, Emily served in the reserves for two years while she was the chief financial officer for a government contracting firm.
Outside Consultants
Ray Sidney-Smith, W3 Consulting (Social Media)
Ray is the President of W3 Consulting, Inc., which provides businesses throughout the United States with practical approaches to digital marketing. Its subsidiary, W3C Web Services, provides affordable Managed WordPress website hosting, domain registration services, SSL certificates, and more. Over the past 21 years, his work has concerned the legal, small business start-up, digital marketing, productivity technology and management fields. Ray splits his time between Pittsburgh, PA, Arlington, VA and New York, NY.
Patra Frame, Strategies for Human Resources (Human Resources)
Patra is the owner of Strategies for Human Resources. With expertise in strategic planning, organization development, talent management, process restructuring, training, plus mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, Patricia advises businesses on a wide range of human capital and strategic planning issues. Patra began her career as a Personnel Officer in the United States Air Force and served worldwide. She holds an MBA from The Wharton School and a BA from Purdue University.
John Boulware, The M&C Group (Federal Procurement)
John is an experienced executive and consultant specializing in small business corporate development, operations, business development, and proposal development and management – all in the Federal Government sector. He first acquired experience in the Federal contracting arena while serving as an officer on active duty with the USAF in the Pentagon. Since his military service, John has acquired more than 25 years of experience with 19 different firms, most as a consultant providing operations, business development, and related support.
Marc Wilson, The Wilson Group (Retail Operations & Marketing)
Marc brings 35 years of experience to bear helping retail, restaurant and tourism-related small businesses refine and promote their concepts to the public. In 1975, Marc started his retail career as co-owner of the largest distributor of Earth Shoes in the U.S. Since then he has held executive positions with retailers such as Britches of Georgetown, Crown Books, Circuit City, The Bicycle Exchange, Ecampus.com and Storetrax, Inc. Marc joined the SBDC in 2009 as a Retail Industry Consultant.
Aaron Miller, Virginia SBDC (International Trade)
Aaron’s role is to help businesses increase sales through exporting. Aaron’s expertise is in international trade and commerce, and he leads collaborative teams to build new trade programs. Aaron is fluent in Mandarin and is experienced in cross-cultural networking skills. Prior to joining the VA SBDC, Aaron led a boutique consultancy focused on international trade development. Aaron has a B.A. in Anthropology from Miami University and an M.A. in International Business from George Mason University.
SBDC Partners
Christina Mindrup, Alexandria Economic Development Partnership (Commercial Space & Leasing)
Christina is the Vice President of Commercial Real Estate for the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership. She works to attract businesses to the City of Alexandria and assists brokers and business owners in identifying potential office or retail space within the City. Christina has almost 20 years of experience in commercial real estate, including her time as the Vice President of Leasing for CarrAmerica. She has a B.A. in Psychology from Miami University of Ohio.