The Small Business Administration has selected a new deputy district director to help lead the SBA Connecticut District Office alongside District Director Catherine Marx.
As deputy director, Moraima Gutierrez will oversee a variety of SBA programs available to the more than 360,000 small businesses throughout the state. Most notable of her new responsibilities she will supervise a lender relations staff that supports more than $300 million in traditional SBA loans annually to Connecticut small business owners.
Gutierrez joined the SBA in 2009 as an Economic Development Specialist and has served in a variety of roles since her arrival. During the pandemic Gutierrez played a vital role in helping Connecticut small business owners receive more than $14.5 billion in COVID-19 federal relief. Throughout 2020 she assisted thousands of small business owners with the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans, and in 2021 she volunteered to be on a team to process and approve Restaurant Revitalization Fund applications. In the last 12 months Gutierrez has been the point person coordinating three White House cabinet member visits to the state for meetings with elected officials, tribal leaders and small business owners.
“Moraima is the ideal person for this position because of her great leadership skills and his proven rapport with the Connecticut business community. Her extensive background in both the private and government sectors is a great asset to this office,” said Catherine Marx, SBA Connecticut District Director.
Prior to the SBA, Gutierrez was a station manager for Telemundo Connecticut/WRDM, the first Spanish language television station in New England. After college she served as the public relations liaison for the Connecticut General Assembly’s Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission.
Her volunteer efforts include serving on the Hartford Foundation’s Latino Endowment Fund steering committee, the University of Hartford’s Women’s Advancement Initiative board and the Capital for Change Race, Equity, and Inclusion board. She also is the recipient of the Hartford Business Journal’s 40 Under Forty Award.
Gutierrez graduated from Bay Path University with a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts and graduated from the University of Saint Joseph with a master’s degree in Business Management.