For thirty years Karen Kerrigan’s leadership, advocacy and training work have helped foster U.S. entrepreneurship and global business growth.  She is founder, president & CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, and is the group’s chief advocate. Kerrigan is viewed as one of the world’s most influential players in advocating for ecosystems to support strong startup activity and small business growth, having served across Administrations as an “entrepreneurial envoy” and “small business ambassador” for U.S. State Department missions and various NGO events and conferences. She is a founding member of the World Entrepreneurship Forum and former Chair (and current board member) of the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), one of the core institutes of the National Endowment for Democracy, which works to strengthen democracy around the globe through private enterprise and market-oriented reforms. Kerrigan is a certified health and wellness coach, as she has a passion for ensuring people have access to information and tools that equip them to live more healthy lives and lifespans.

Kerrigan is a collaborative and well-respected individual within the business community who has led numerous coalitions and initiatives with diverse partners and organizations. She recently founded the Metaverse Business Alliance, chairs the Small Business Roundtable, serves on the board of the Vienna Business Association and chairs the Health, Fitness and Wellness Committee, and is a National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) advisory board member. She has been appointed to numerous federal advisory boards including the National Women’s Business Council, the U.S.-Iraq Business Dialog, the U.S. Treasury’s Taxpayer Advisory Panel, and the National Advisory Committee for Labor Provisions of U.S. Free Trade Agreements.

Accolades for Karen’s work. “The hardest working woman in show business,” The Hill

BizTech Magazine named Kerrigan to its 2020 Small Business Influencer IT List in November 2020. In July 2018, Kerrigan was named to Fit Small Business’s “Top Small Business Influencers of 2018.”  She was presented with the “Crowdfundie Award” at the 2017 Global Crowdfunding Convention for her leadership and advocacy on crowdfunding issues. In November of 2017, the Global IP Center of the U.S. Chamber presented Kerrigan with its “Excellence in Advocacy” award for her work on strengthening IP protections, and for her advocacy and outreach regarding the importance of IP for investment, innovation and entrepreneurship.  In 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011 she was named a Top 100 Champion Small Business Influencer by Small Business Trends.  CEO World Magazine named Kerrigan a “Top Power Woman in Crowdfunding” (November 2013),  and in May 2016 she was presented with the New Capital Markets Leadership Award by the Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Advocates (CFIRA) and Crowdfund Capital Advisors for her steadfast leadership and work in making equity and debt-based crowdfunding legal. In November of 2009 Kerrigan was awarded the “Small Business Advocate of the Year” by the NY Enterprise Report.  Among media accolades, Inc. Magazine named Kerrigan to its small business “Best Friends in D.C.” (2006) list as a “power broker and activist” with “serious clout” for entrepreneurs; Fortune Small Business  to its “Power 30” list (2000); and The Hill newspaper to its “most influential small business” list (2006) describing Kerrigan as “the hardest working woman in show business.”  In 1995, National Journal named Kerrigan to its short list of “K Street” activists most likely to have an impact on Capitol Hill. Campaigns and Elections Magazine named her as one of its “Rising Stars in Politics” in its April 1996 issue.  She lectures frequently at colleges and universities, making appearances at Harvard Business School, Georgetown University, University of Maryland, Ohio State University and many others including institutions outside of the United States.

Kerrigan graduated from SUNY Cortland with a B.A. in Political Science, and she currently serves on the Cortland College Foundation Board. She resides with her family in Northern Virginia.

Twitter: @KarenKerrigan

Linked In: /karenkerrigan

Facebook: facebook.com/karen.kerrigan.7/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/karenkerrigan1/

SBE Council Twitter: @SBECouncil