2025 SBAN Data Task Force

SBAN has created a task force of data experts to address the need for more—and more accessible—data on BIPOC-owned small businesses. Our members repeatedly tell us they need good data to understand market trends, better target their business support efforts, identify where gentrification is taking place, and provide accurate and compelling information to policymakers and funders. 

Task force members will meet regularly for presentations and discussions about data collection, distribution, and analysis. They will talk with SBAN members about their data needs, provide guidance on how to enhance the SBAN Data Portal, and contribute to a guide on how to collect and use small business data to make the case for anti-displacement policies, which SBAN will publish in 2026.

Task Force Member Affiliation
Gerrit Knaap, Co-facilitator Small Business Anti-Displacement Network Linkedin
Jamie Shanker-Passero, Co-facilitator Small Business Anti-Displacement Network Linkedin
Nick Finio University of Maryland’s National Center for Smart Growth, Research and Education Linkedin
Li (Kerry) Fang University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Linkedin
Mahesh Somashekhar University of Illinois-Chicago Profile
Shawnee Keck City of Oakland, CA Linkedin
Rachel Metlzer Harvard University Profile
Cadence Petros ECOnorthwest Linkedin
Jose Cazares City of Beaverton, OR Profile
Stacy Rebich Hespanha Flourish Local, Santa Barbara, CA Linkedin
Naddia Clute Montgomery County (MD) Business Center Linkedin
Josh Harris Kensington Corridor Trust, Philadelphia, PA Linkedin
Apollo Woods Bigger Than Food Foundation, Edmund, OK Linkedin
Lauren Myerscough City of Denver, CO Linkedin
Kevin Williams Black Squirrel Collaborative, Philadelphia, PA Linkedin
Hannah Eli Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, Washington, DC Linkedin
Rossana Espinoza National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders Profile
Loretta Lees Boston University Profile