The Small Business Development Center officials hosted by College of the Canyons officials announced the hiring of two new staff members who are set to help the SBDC expand the business consulting and training services.

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Joining the SBDC in the role of rural community business advisor is business professor and longtime Antelope Valley resident Chris Hamilton.

An adjunct faculty member at California State University, Bakersfield and Antelope Valley College, Hamilton will be working to help bring SBDC consulting and training services to the rural areas of the Antelope Valley.

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The new rural community business advisor position is being partially funded through the Rural Investment in Sustainable Economies grant that was awarded to the SBDC by Wells Fargo Bank.

As part of his job duties, Hamilton will work closely with Raimone Roberts, SBDC business advisor for the Antelope Valley, to provide consulting and training services to entrepreneurs and business owners and to establish a close working relationship with town council groups and the various chambers of commerce located throughout the Antelope Valley.

One of Hamilton’s key goals is to recruit agricultural based business interested in participating in the upcoming California Agricultural Export training program, beginning Aug. 7, at the SBDC’s Lancaster office located on the University of Antelope Valley campus.

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Joining the SBDC in the role of training program coordinator is Yolanda Rubio, former director of planning and performance, WellPoint, Inc.

In her new position with the SBDC, Rubio will oversee the SBDC’s robust business training program, which hosts more than 200 training session each year, serving more than 3,600 entrepreneurs and small business owners at locations throughout the Santa Clarita, San Fernando and Antelope Valleys.

“I am very pleased to bring in people of Chris’s and Yolanda’s caliber to the SBDC team,” said SBDC Executive Director Steve Tannehill. “Chris and Yolanda bring years of real world experience as well as advanced business degrees from top quality institutions. They have the combination of practical and theoretical knowledge that we look for in our advisors and our office team. With their assistance the SBDC will be able to continue to expand and enhance its already robust consulting and training programs.”

Related: SBDC – Small Business Development Center

The SBDC hosted by College of the Canyons was launched in January 2006. SBDC business advisors help prospective and existing small business owners start, grow or expand their businesses by providing workshops, one-on-one consulting, trainings and other resources to the business community.

The SBDC’s main offices are located in the Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook University Center on the College of the Canyons Valencia campus. Its Antelope Valley satellite location is located on the University of Antelope valley campus.

SBDC services are also available at nine satellite locations throughout the San Fernando and Antelope Valleys.

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