Spencer named by Trump administration as new SBA Mid-Atlantic region administrator

Yahoo

15-04-2025

bluefield — A local official is now working with the Trump Administration to assist with small business and entrepreneurship growth across the Mid-Atlantic region.
Jim Spencer was recently named by U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler as the new SBA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator. In his new position, Spencer will oversee SBA efforts in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.
Spencer most recently served as the executive director of the Bluefield Economic Development Authority where he oversaw the development of a number of key projects, including Intuit's Downtown Prosperity Hub, the Omnis Building Technologies plant at Exit 1, the Bluefield Commercialization Station and most recently the 400 block demolition and rebuild project in Bluefield.
Spencer said he is proud to work with the Trump administration and Loeffler to support small business growth, entrepreneurship and the SBA's recently announced Made in America manufacturing initiative, a campaign that is designed to restore American dominance and national security by empowering small manufacturers.
'Number one I never imagined in my career I would be allowed and afforded such a tremendous opportunity,' Spencer said. 'I'm on board and honored. It's a privilege to work with the five states and D.C. I believe in merit, hard work and dedication, and I think it shows that there are people that see some of the good efforts that have been done.'
Spencer was sworn in as the new SBA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator on March 24.
One of the primary goals of the U.S. Small Business Administration is to power the American dream of entrepreneurship. In his former role as executive director of the Bluefield Economic Development Authority, Spencer was actively involved in promoting entrepreneurship in the region. On the federal level, the SBA seeks to empower entrepreneurship by providing job creators with the resources and tools they need to grow and expand their business. The agency also is actively involved with disaster recovery efforts, including the most recent federal disaster declaration for Southern West Virginia.
'I actually get daily briefings on that,' Spencer said of the current disaster declaration, adding that he was at the Disaster Recovery Center in McDowell County just earlier this month. The current disaster declaration stems from the Feb. 15 flood.
But Spencer's primary goal as the new regional SBA administrator is to assist with small business and entrepreneurship growth in the Mid-Atlantic region.
'Each state has a district director, and that is sort of the leader on each of the states,' Spencer said. 'So those work with me. The goal with the SBA is we support existing businesses and work with entrepreneurship.'
The Mid-Atlantic Region covers West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Washington D.C. In his new role, Spencer will be working with each state, including West Virginia SBA District Director Karen Friel and Virginia SBA District Director Carl Knoblock.
'The Made in America initiative — I'm excited about that,' Spencer said of the recently announced manufacturing campaign, pointing to similarities to the Commercialization Station project that was launched in Bluefield several years ago.
The Bluefield Commercialization Station was designed to serve as a mixed-use incubator for the Bluefield area.
'So when the President and Administratrator Kelly Loeffler came out with the Made in America initiative, our area had been focused on manufacturing for years,' Spencer said. 'It's very important for rural communities to be served. I think that is evidenced in them picking someone from a small community.'
As part of the SBA's Made in America manufacturing initiative, Spencer said the SBA will be working to support President Trump's agenda to create good-paying jobs, secure U.S. supply chains and promote fair trade. The campaign specifically seeks to cut $100 billion in regulation; launch a Red Tape hotline to assist small business owners and manufacturers to share feedback and share onerous regulations for review; and to promote a skilled manufacturing workforce by partnering with agencies, trade schools and the private sector to create a pipeline of skilled workers to support manufacturing.
Spencer said about 98 percent of American manufacturers are small businesses.
'Small business is the backbone of the American economy,' Spencer said. 'If you think about the importance of this — the majority of businesses in the United States are considered small businesses.'
Spencer said his initial weeks on the job have been focused on individual calls with each of the states. He also hopes to make field visits to each of the states soon.
'We are doing individual calls with each state,' Spencer said of his initial outreach efforts as regional administrator. From there he plans to make field visits to the individual states.
'Well first off I'm getting ready to start traveling and I'm looking forward to traveling and listening to the other locations,' Spencer said. 'And we are doing round tables. So I'm interested and looking forward to when I can get out in the field. But also working with Maryland, Pennsylvania and also D.C. So I'm visiting those regions, and I want to be an asset to help those regions grow. I don't want to sit behind the desk.'
Although he is now working for the federal government, and is currently stationed in Charleston, Spencer still lives in Bluefield.
Spencer is excited about his replacement at BEDA, Sam Wolford, who is a former co-worker from his time in Tazewell County.
'It's an exciting time,' Spencer said. 'Sam and I worked together for about 20 years in Tazewell County. He is a top notch individual. Very smart and very talented. He and I have talked about projects and things like that and he and I have talked about coming out and hosting training.'
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