Victor Ponce

Victor Ponce serves as the North Cascades Program Manager, offering training and one-on-one advising in both Spanish and English to emerging entrepreneurs and small businesses in Skagit County and the surrounding areas. With over 8 years of experience as a small business advisor in Chile, Victor has a rich background in developing products and experiences … Read more

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Devin Gonzalez

Devin serves as a bilingual Business Advisor focusing on Food Business and community outreach for the North Cascades region, offering one-on-one advising to aspiring entrepreneurs in the Skagit, Island, and Whatcom counties. His passion for the food industry and his background in entrepreneurship as the owner of a restaurant and catering company make him an … Read more

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Manny Bonilla

Manny is a devoted advocate of financial education, driven by his own personal journey and a strong desire to uplift underrepresented communities. In his most recent role as a Mortgage Loan Officer, Manny guided individuals towards the path of generational wealth through strategic real estate investments, a role that aligns harmoniously with his passion for … Read more

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Asche Rider

Growing up in a family-owned business was the beginning of Asche’s business education and instilled in her a deep respect for the hard work and numerous skills needed to run a business. Over the past 20 years, she’s worked in restaurants, wealth management, value-added ag, and as a Certified Business Advisor. Asche is particularly good … Read more

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Barry Schoening

Barry Schoening is a former small business owner with more than 35 years’ experience in mortgages and securities. He started his career in accounting and mortgage banking and then got into the securities industry, specifically bond trading. He graduated from WSU with a degree in business administration. Barry’s office is located at the Kittitas County … Read more

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Juan Garcia

Prior to joining the Washington SBDC at Center for Inclusive Entrepreneurship, Juan worked in the restaurant industry alongside many talented chefs. Most recently, he was head chef at Roundtop Public House, where he mentored culinary students. Previously, Juan and his spouse opened a mobile food business in Seattle, The Tamale Guy, where they implemented their … Read more

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Empty nesters access SBDC services to start a business and achieve their dream

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash.—Christina Sodemann-Perkins and her husband Dale Perkins had long wanted to quit working for others and open their own small business, but the issue was, what to do and where to do it? Dale Perkins grew up in the lawn care business and Sodemann-Perkins had extensive experience in business management, so when family … Read more

Jennifer Shelton

Jennifer brings over 20 years’ experience as a technical assistance advisor and first-hand experience as a small business owner to her work with SBDC clients.   Jennifer enjoys helping business owners/managers create solutions that works for them. Areas of focus in her advising include leadership development, cash flow forecasting, financial analysis, increasing profitability, buying a business, … Read more

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SharonAnn Hamilton

SharonAnn Hamilton joined the SBDC in 2022 after more than 30 years’ experience as a Certified Financial Planner. In addition to her work as a financial planner, she has owned and operated an RV travel park, a small mini-storage facility, and a residential real estate company. She was also a co-owner of a contracting business. … Read more

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Christy Mastin

Christy Mastin joined the Washington SBDC in 2022 as an International Trade Business Advisor. Christy managed international sales for a Washington-based forage company for nearly a decade before joining the SBDC. She was the primary point of contract for foreign buyers seeking information on various aspects of the hay operation, including growing, inventory management, trucking, … Read more

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Rich Shockley

Rich has been an SBDC Certified Business Advisor since 2008 and has also been certified as a global business professional through NASBITE, the world’s leading organization for training and education in the field of global business. Rich has been the director of Highline College SBDC since 2012 and in 2013 Rich was recognized as the … Read more

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Preparing to meet with an SBDC business advisor

The Washington SBDC provides no-cost, confidential in-depth one-on-one advising to current business owners and new start-up businesses who have a clear plan and enough capital to get started. We can help prepare business owners for traditional lending. Loans are not readily available for start-up businesses and grants are not generally available for for-profit businesses. Our … Read more

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