Full Name
Karen Kerrigan
Job Title
President & CEO
Company
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council)
Speaker Bio
For more than thirty years Karen Kerrigan’s leadership, advocacy and training work has helped foster U.S. entrepreneurship and global business growth. She is president & CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, and is the group’s chief advocate for its members. Kerrigan is also founder & CEO of Steps to Wellness and is a certified Health and Wellness Coach.
Kerrigan regularly testifies before the U.S. Congress on a wide range of issues impacting entrepreneurs, startups, investment and the economy. She has been appointed to numerous federal advisory boards including the National Women’s Business Council, the U.S.-Iraq Business Dialog, the U.S. Treasury’s Taxpayer Advisory Panel, and the National Advisory Committee for Labor Provisions of U.S. Free Trade Agreements. Kerrigan regularly engages with the President’s cabinet and key advisors, and has spoken or led roundtables at White House economic summits, scores of events hosted by the Small Business Administration, U.S. Treasury Department, Securities and Exchange Commission and other federal government agencies and departments. She is a collaborative and well-respected individual within the business and think-tank community who has led numerous coalitions and initiatives with diverse partners and organizations. She has also served on NAWBO’s Advisory Council, Verizon’s Consumer Advisory Board, and the Domenici-Rivlin Debt Reduction Task Force, among other advisory roles over the course of her career. She also serves on the board (and chairs the Health, Wellness and Fitness Committee) of the Vienna Business Association, and the Bayh-Dole Coalition.
She has written hundreds of Op-Eds and newspaper columns, and regularly appears on national television and talk radio programs. Kerrigan regularly appears on Fox Business to provide analysis and commentary on the latest economic data, what’s driving the markets, and the outlook for the economy, entrepreneurship and small business growth.
Accolades for Karen’s work.
She has been called America’s “entrepreneurial envoy” and “small business ambassador” for her extensive speaking, knowledge sharing and capacity-building work overseas. Kerrigan is a founding member of the World Entrepreneurship Forum and has provided counsel to governments and business associations across the globe regarding entrepreneurial development, capacity building, policy formation and implementation. She has traveled to Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tunisia, Israel, Morocco, Nepal, the Palestinian territories, among many other nations on behalf of the U.S. State Department to work with business leaders, women and youth entrepreneurs, and government officials on advancing reforms and programs to encourage entrepreneurship, investment, and business growth. Kerrigan is a board member/audit committee Chair and former board Chair of the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), one of the core institutes of the National Endowment for Democracy, which works to strengthen democracy around the globe through private enterprise and market-oriented reforms. She is a World in 2050 Brain Trust member of the Diplomatic Courier.
“The hardest working woman in show business,” The Hill
BizTech Magazine named Kerrigan to its 2020 Small Business Influencer IT List in November 2020. In July 2018, Kerrigan was named to Fit Small Business’s “Top Small Business Influencers of 2018.” She was presented with the “Crowdfundie Award” at the 2017 Global Crowdfunding Convention for her leadership and advocacy on crowdfunding issues. In November of 2017, the Global IP Center of the U.S. Chamber presented Kerrigan with its “Excellence in Advocacy” award for her work on strengthening IP protections, and for her advocacy and outreach regarding the importance of IP for investment, innovation and entrepreneurship. In 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011 she was named a Top 100 Champion Small Business Influencer by Small Business Trends. CEO World Magazine named Kerrigan a “Top Power Woman in Crowdfunding” (November 2013), and in May 2016 she was presented with the New Capital Markets Leadership Award by the Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Advocates (CFIRA) and Crowdfund Capital Advisors for her steadfast leadership and work in making equity and debt-based crowdfunding legal. In November of 2009 Kerrigan was awarded the “Small Business Advocate of the Year” by the NY Enterprise Report. Among media accolades, Inc. Magazine named Kerrigan to its small business “Best Friends in D.C.” (2006) list as a “power broker and activist” with “serious clout” for entrepreneurs; Fortune Small Business to its “Power 30” list (2000); and The Hill newspaper to its “most influential small business” list (2006) describing Kerrigan as “the hardest working woman in show business.” In 1995, National Journal named Kerrigan to its short list of “K Street” activists most likely to have an impact on Capitol Hill. Campaigns and Elections Magazine named her as one of its “Rising Stars in Politics” in its April 1996 issue. She lectures frequently at colleges and universities, making appearances at Harvard Business School, Georgetown University, University of Maryland, Ohio State University and many others including institutions outside of the United States.
Kerrigan graduated from SUNY Cortland with a B.A. in Political Science, and she currently serves on the Cortland College Foundation Board. She resides with her family in Northern Virginia.
Kerrigan regularly testifies before the U.S. Congress on a wide range of issues impacting entrepreneurs, startups, investment and the economy. She has been appointed to numerous federal advisory boards including the National Women’s Business Council, the U.S.-Iraq Business Dialog, the U.S. Treasury’s Taxpayer Advisory Panel, and the National Advisory Committee for Labor Provisions of U.S. Free Trade Agreements. Kerrigan regularly engages with the President’s cabinet and key advisors, and has spoken or led roundtables at White House economic summits, scores of events hosted by the Small Business Administration, U.S. Treasury Department, Securities and Exchange Commission and other federal government agencies and departments. She is a collaborative and well-respected individual within the business and think-tank community who has led numerous coalitions and initiatives with diverse partners and organizations. She has also served on NAWBO’s Advisory Council, Verizon’s Consumer Advisory Board, and the Domenici-Rivlin Debt Reduction Task Force, among other advisory roles over the course of her career. She also serves on the board (and chairs the Health, Wellness and Fitness Committee) of the Vienna Business Association, and the Bayh-Dole Coalition.
She has written hundreds of Op-Eds and newspaper columns, and regularly appears on national television and talk radio programs. Kerrigan regularly appears on Fox Business to provide analysis and commentary on the latest economic data, what’s driving the markets, and the outlook for the economy, entrepreneurship and small business growth.
Accolades for Karen’s work.
She has been called America’s “entrepreneurial envoy” and “small business ambassador” for her extensive speaking, knowledge sharing and capacity-building work overseas. Kerrigan is a founding member of the World Entrepreneurship Forum and has provided counsel to governments and business associations across the globe regarding entrepreneurial development, capacity building, policy formation and implementation. She has traveled to Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tunisia, Israel, Morocco, Nepal, the Palestinian territories, among many other nations on behalf of the U.S. State Department to work with business leaders, women and youth entrepreneurs, and government officials on advancing reforms and programs to encourage entrepreneurship, investment, and business growth. Kerrigan is a board member/audit committee Chair and former board Chair of the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), one of the core institutes of the National Endowment for Democracy, which works to strengthen democracy around the globe through private enterprise and market-oriented reforms. She is a World in 2050 Brain Trust member of the Diplomatic Courier.
“The hardest working woman in show business,” The Hill
BizTech Magazine named Kerrigan to its 2020 Small Business Influencer IT List in November 2020. In July 2018, Kerrigan was named to Fit Small Business’s “Top Small Business Influencers of 2018.” She was presented with the “Crowdfundie Award” at the 2017 Global Crowdfunding Convention for her leadership and advocacy on crowdfunding issues. In November of 2017, the Global IP Center of the U.S. Chamber presented Kerrigan with its “Excellence in Advocacy” award for her work on strengthening IP protections, and for her advocacy and outreach regarding the importance of IP for investment, innovation and entrepreneurship. In 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011 she was named a Top 100 Champion Small Business Influencer by Small Business Trends. CEO World Magazine named Kerrigan a “Top Power Woman in Crowdfunding” (November 2013), and in May 2016 she was presented with the New Capital Markets Leadership Award by the Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Advocates (CFIRA) and Crowdfund Capital Advisors for her steadfast leadership and work in making equity and debt-based crowdfunding legal. In November of 2009 Kerrigan was awarded the “Small Business Advocate of the Year” by the NY Enterprise Report. Among media accolades, Inc. Magazine named Kerrigan to its small business “Best Friends in D.C.” (2006) list as a “power broker and activist” with “serious clout” for entrepreneurs; Fortune Small Business to its “Power 30” list (2000); and The Hill newspaper to its “most influential small business” list (2006) describing Kerrigan as “the hardest working woman in show business.” In 1995, National Journal named Kerrigan to its short list of “K Street” activists most likely to have an impact on Capitol Hill. Campaigns and Elections Magazine named her as one of its “Rising Stars in Politics” in its April 1996 issue. She lectures frequently at colleges and universities, making appearances at Harvard Business School, Georgetown University, University of Maryland, Ohio State University and many others including institutions outside of the United States.
Kerrigan graduated from SUNY Cortland with a B.A. in Political Science, and she currently serves on the Cortland College Foundation Board. She resides with her family in Northern Virginia.
Speaking At
