Virginia SBDC Capital Region | Small Business Owner on Phone with iPad

A network of expertise and support.

The Capital Region Small Business Development Center is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration and supported by America’s SBDC, Virginia SBDC, and George Mason University.

Thanks to our host, Virginia Community Capital, we are able to provide education, consulting, and economic research to support potential and existing small business owners throughout the Richmond area.

Meet the Team

Virginia SBDC Capital Region | Tatiane Pena

Tatiane Pena

Executive Director

Tati has proudly been with the re-launched Capital Region Center since day two. She began her tenure with us as a social media and operational consultant and was subsequently brought on as the Program Manager & Assistant Director before ultimately settling into the role of Executive Director.  Prior to working with the SBDC, she spent a handful of years in Richmond’s boutique management consulting space and over a decade in the hospitality industry.

A first-generation Richmond native, Tati attended Virginia Commonwealth University where she studied English with a focus on 16th and 17th-century Paleography; namely the works of Elenora Wyatt Finch and John Donne. In her free time, Tati prioritizes pouring back into the city that raised her. She is a lover of stories, people, food, and her dog. Ultimately, Tati highly values courageousness and care and strives to center joy and intentionality in all that she does.


Charese Chambers

Charese Chambers

Assistant Director

Charese’s love is numbers and she’s been told that entrepreneurship is in her blood.  She has been an entrepreneur from a young age- pushing candy, popcorn, and girl scout cookies- so it only seemed natural to start her own business.  Charese’s passion is educating other entrepreneurs from a place of experience and expertise.  She’s definitely your secret weapon and resource in the Capital Region.


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Megan Nolde

Client Services Coordinator & Business Advisor

Megan is a longtime Richmond resident and a proponent of acting locally with a global mindset. In addition to her role here, she also owns a nonprofit consulting business and is a practicing fine artist.

Megan holds BFAs in Printmaking and Art Education, a Masters of Fine Arts in printmaking, and a Masters of Public Administration. She also holds a Certificate in Nonprofit Management and is a Level 1 CrossFit certified trainer. Megan is passionate about the power of compassion and empathy, creativity, and relationship-building. She brings a holistic-yet-detailed way of thinking to her clients, encouraging reflection, practicality, and imagination.


Dan Myers Headshot

Dan Myers

Business Counselor

Dan is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of 42Phi Ventures which invests in startups aligned with the firm’s mission of equalizing access to wealth creation and desegregating capital. Locally in Virginia, Dan served as the Managing Director of Lighthouse Labs and co-developed the Lighthouse University Initiative by securing GO Virginia’s largest grant distributed at that time.

 

Previously, Dan was the Founding Director of Runway, an innovation hub in San Franciso, where Dan led startup acceleration yielding 53exits in 5 years as well as corporate innovation for Fortune 500 partners.

 

Additionally, Dan built U.S. partnerships for China’s $50B Didi Chuxing, advised Portugal Ventures’ 500M fund, and worked to grow the Extreme Tech Challenge into one of the largest startup competitions in the world, with finalists pitching to Sir Richard Branson at his Necker Island home.


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Jamee Dion, QuickBooks Pro

Business Counselor

As a lifelong supporter of local and small businesses, Jamee has always been eager to make an impact at the community level. She’s the owner of Balanced Bookkeeping, where her strong attention to detail, clear communication style, and superior organizational skills make sure that small business owners are set up for success. Within SBDC, she works with founders to set up systems and problem solve to help assure financial success in the future. As a QuickBooks ProAdvisor, she can answer any QuickBooks questions you have.


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Korinn Y. Carter

Business Counselor

Korinn Y. Carter is a mental health professional, George Mason University graduate, community advocate, and award-winning social entrepreneur from the North Side of Richmond, VA with a mission to build businesses and brands that promote positive social change. She has founded, operated, and managed several businesses and organizations simultaneously, and has assisted many new and existing entrepreneurs with theirs. She loves getting to the “why” behind starting your business, creating mission driven brands, and seeing people’s dreams realized.

Our Partners

From non-profits to public entities to private companies, the Capital Region SBDC is coming back to the Richmond region due to the generous support of the wider community. We are so grateful to the following partners:

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