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Small Business Development Committee

Small Business Development Committee

Members
Mission
Upcoming Meetings
Subcommittees
Member Bios
Reference Materials
Meeting Recordings

Members

Members (Term Expiration Date)

Raul Fernandez, Chair (8/31/2021)
Jenn Mason, Vice Chair (8/31/2024)
Elias Audy (8/31/2022)
Tracy Chen (8/31/2025)
David Gladstone (8/31/2024)
Talia Glass (8/31/2022)
Melissa Tapper Goldman (8/31/2023)
David Leschinsky (8/31/2022)

Anne Meyers (8/31/2023)
Debbie G. Miller (8/31/2021)
Caitlin Starr, Office of Diversity Inclusion & Community Relations (DICR) Liaison
Colleen Suhanoksy (8/31/2024)
Debbie Raisner Thompson (8/31/2021)
LeRoy Watkins (8/31/2025)
Andrew Wiener (8/31/2025)

Mission

Mission

The Small Business Development Committee will study and recommend methods (including funding requests and sources) to the Select Board to incubate, launch, recruit, and sustain small businesses in Brookline. Special attention will be paid to minority, women, veteran, service-disabled veteran, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and disability-owned businesses.

The committee will explore potential solutions to rising rents, regulatory restrictions, parking access, commercial displacement, and other headwinds facing small businesses.

The committee will consider the viability and recommend potential tools including business improvement districts, small business incubators, pop-up shops, co-working spaces, parklets, outdoor seating, galleries, public markets, and other options, as well as the role of the arts and special events in contributing to thriving businesses and communities.

The committee shall have no more than 15 members appointed to staggered 3-year terms and shall include residents, a representative of the Chamber of Commerce and/or local business associations, small business owners, commercial property owners, and members with expertise in public art programming and small business assistance. The Committee will be staffed by the Economic Development & Long-Term Planning Division.

Upcoming Meetings

The Small Business Development Committee meets on the second Tuesday of the month from 9-10:30am unless otherwise noted:

April 12, 2022
May 10, 2022
June 14, 2022
July 12, 2022
August 9, 2022
September 13, 2022
October 11, 2022
November 8, 2022
December 13, 2022

Subcommittees

SBDC Subcommittees

Subcommittee Focus Area	Subcommittee Members	Upcoming Meetings
Commercial Areas Experience	Melissa Tapper Goldman, Chair Elias Audy David Leschinsky Debbie Miller Debbie Raisner Thompson	TBA
Regulatory	Jenn Mason Talia Glass Anne Meyers	TBA
Women and POC-Owned Businesses	Raul Fernandez Caitlin Starr (DICR staff liaison)	TBA

Member Bios

Coming soon!

Reference Materials

Reference Materials

Small Business Development Committee members will be sharing any important reference materials (reports, articles, etc.) that they come across in their exploration of issues and challenges facing Brookline’s small business community, as well as potential tools and solutions to address those problems, here:

Town of Brookline Documents:
Town of Brookline Programs and Resources:
- Town of Brookline Facade Loan Program
Documents from other municipalities:
- City of Boston Small Business Plan - March 2016