LaTanya Channel, Metro Dir. Economic Growth and Small Bus. Dev. — Prosper Nashville

Speakers Friday, August 4, 2023

Some say that small businesses are the lifeblood of our nation’s economy. Others say that the economy is rigged to support large corporations. So what is Nashville doing to promote economic growth and small businesses?

Since October 2022, LaTanya has served as an appointee of Mayor John Cooper as Metro Nashville’s economic development chief – official title as the Director of Economic Growth and Small Business Development.

Prior to that, LaTanya served 30 years in federal government; first, at the US Department of Agriculture (known as USDA) and later at the US Small Business Administration (“the SBA”) in Washington, DC.  At USDA, she served in management advisory roles on human resources, agency reorganizations, and civil rights and EEO– ultimately, co-authoring the Secretary of Agriculture’s Civil Rights Action Report.  As perspective, USDA is one of the largest federal agencies with over 100,000 employees and a budget of over $150 billion.

In her time at the SBA from 2005 until 2022, she first served in Washington DC and then in Nashville. She ultimately served as the Director of the SBA’s Tennessee District, which covers all 95 Tennessee counties on entrepreneurial development and growth opportunities.

Before moving to Nashville, LaTanya served as In-House Counsel in the nation’s Minority Small Business Program – commonly known as “the 8(a) program” – and as the Chief of Certification for the HUBZone and Disadvantaged Business certification programs for small businesses, nationwide – all at SBA’s Washington DC headquarters office. 

LaTanya is a “Native Washingtonian;” She was born and raised in Washington, DC, and her extended family still live in the South – Southern Maryland (yes, that is the official name AND location!) – where her family served as tobacco (rather, ‘baca) farmers for over 6 generations – less than 45 minutes from the US Capitol.

LaTanya earned a BA degree from Claremont McKenna College, in Claremont, California near Los Angeles, referred to as the Harvard of the West Coast.  She is still licensed to practice law, after earning her law degree from Rutgers University School of Law-Newark where she was also the Managing Editor of the Law Review.

Since 2014, LaTanya has lived in Old Hickory community of Nashville with her family and beloved dog, a “designer mutt” affectionately known as “Teddy”.

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