Former NJ Resident Jennifer Kim Appointed to SBA Senior Leadership

Associate Administrator Kim is the first woman of color and first Asian American to lead SBA’s Office of Field Operations

On Apr 29, 2022

President Joe Biden has appointed additional leaders to key U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) positions, including Jennifer Kim, who has deep experience in New Jersey and called the Garden State home while she worked for U.S. Senator Cory Booker’s presidential campaign and led the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group (NJPIRG), based in Trenton, for four years.

Associate Administrator Kim is the first woman of color, and first Asian-American, to be appointed to lead the entire agency’s Office of Field Operations.

Kim’s almost two-decade professional career has focused on strengthening communities and her experience advocating for the public interest will assist her in leading the SBA’s national network of 10 Regional and 68 District Offices around the nation, including the SBA New Jersey and New York District Offices.

Kim started her career in grassroots organizing, serving as a campus organizer, where she recruited and trained student leaders to manage campaigns to increase renewable energy standards, reduce plastic waste, and make higher education more affordable. She also led a campaign to protect New Jerseyans from toxic chemicals

During her tenure leading NJPIRG, Kim led campaigns in support of toxic-free communities, healthcare reform, consumer protections and safe energy by advocating for shutting down Oyster Creek in Ocean County, which closed ahead of schedule in 2018. Thanks to her efforts, NJPIRG frequently partnered with other advocacy groups such as New Jersey Citizen Action, New Jersey Policy Perspective, the State Chapter of AARP as well as small business groups on joint efforts such as utility rate protection and government transparency efforts to hold elected officials more accountable.

Additionally, Kim has also dedicated many years to increasing voter registration in communities of color as well as promoting youth civic engagement. More recently, she worked to strengthen ties between underserved communities and the public health system to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates. While in graduate school at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs she worked for now-New York State Senator John Liu as well as then-Comptroller Scott M. Stringer.

“I am honored to be appointed SBA Associate Administrator for Field Operations to help advance President Biden and Administrator Guzman’s priorities to improve access to capital, remove barriers and increase opportunities to business counseling, technical assistance and training for all small business owners and entrepreneurs,” Associate Administrator Kim said.

“The SBA is uniquely positioned to help small businesses grow and thrive. Our federal agency provided over $42 billion to small business owners and entrepreneurs in the Garden State through pandemic recovery programs including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF). We want to keep serving those businesses as well as expand our outreach to entrepreneurs in underserved communities. And, thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re making record investments in projects such as road and bridge repair that small businesses rely on to operate and grow. I stand ready to help build a more just and resilient small business ecosystem,” Kim added.

In addition to her advocacy work, Kim helped lead the field organizing program for President Biden’s general election campaign and served on the Presidential Inaugural Committee. She also served as Director of States and Organizing for U.S. Senator Cory Booker’s presidential primary campaign from 2019 to 2020 where she was based in Newark. She attended the University of Michigan and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

As SBA Associate Administrator for Field Operations, Kim will work directly with SBA Atlantic Regional Administrator Marlene Cintron and SBA New Jersey District Director John Blackstock, overseeing delivery of the federal agency’s programs and services while also enhancing the customer service experience for agency borrowers, partners and the public.

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