WEST PLAINS, Mo. – West Plains native Bronwen Madden has been hired as the new coordinator of the Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) at Missouri State University-West Plains.
Madden’s first day on the job was Monday. Her office, which is under the auspices of the University/Community Programs (U/CP) Department, is housed in the Ozarks Small Business Incubator (OzSBI) at 408 Washington Ave. in downtown West Plains.
“As a proud West Plains native, I am excited to return to my hometown to facilitate local business development and to support area entrepreneurs in my new role as SBTDC coordinator,” Madden said. “The partnership established between Missouri State-West Plains and the Ozarks Small Business Incubator is a bold stride advancing West Plains’ business leadership in the region. I am honored to be part of a dynamic team committed to building upon this momentum.”
Madden, a 1994 graduate of West Plains High School, comes to the SBTDC after serving as executive director of the Los Angeles Regional Export Council (LARExC) in Los Angeles, Calif., a non-profit, non-partisan, membership-based organization serving the Los Angeles region to facilitate exports and attract, retain and expand foreign direct investment to create jobs, according to the organization’s website.
Prior to that, she served as deputy director, then acting director, of the California Center for International Trade Development hosted by El Camino College Business Training Center in Hawthorne, Calif. She also spent seven years as a business adviser at El Camino’s Small Business Development Center. From October 2000 to July 2006, she was international business manager with the Missouri Department of Economic Development in Jefferson City.
She received a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1998 and an Executive Master of International Business from the Boeing Institute of International Business in the John Cook School of Business at St. Louis University in 2008.
Madden comes to the SBTDC as an accredited Certified Global Business Professional (CGBP) and accredited CGBP trainer with over 15 years of international trade development experience.
“We are very pleased to have Ms. Madden on board to continue our excellent service to the region’s entrepreneurs,” said U/CP Director Brenda Malkowski. “Bronwen has a wealth of knowledge and experience that will continue to advance the many successes of the Small Business and Technology Development Center.”
For more information about the SBTDC and its services, contact Madden at 417-255-8789, or visit the SBTDC website, http://wp.missouristate.edu/ucp/SmallBusiness.htm.