Hogan Appoints Laura Pasternak to State Commission

MarketPoint principal Laura Pasternak has been appointed to the Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority Commission (MSBDFA).

Established in 1978, the Commission promotes the viability and expansion of businesses owned by economically and socially disadvantaged entrepreneurs, and also small businesses that do not meet the established credit criteria of financial institutions, and consequently are unable to obtain adequate business financing on reasonable terms through normal financing channels.

“It’s an honor to be selected by the Governor,” said Pasternak. “I am excited to contribute from my perspective as an entrepreneur and a Maryland small business owner.”

Earlier this year, Pasternak was named one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women, by The Daily Record. In 2013, she served on the Board of the University of Baltimore’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. In 2009, she was invited to Nairobi, Kenya, to train African businesswomen on the value of branding in organizational growth as a U.S. Corporate Ambassador with Vital Voices, a Department of State funded, non-governmental organization (NGO) that identifies, trains, and empowers emerging women leaders and social entrepreneurs around the globe.

In addition, Laura is a board member and Chair of the Mentoring Committee for Network 2000 and serves on the Executive Leadership Team for the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Campaign. She has previously served as a board member of the Lyric Foundation and the Baltimore Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).

Her firm, MarketPoint LLC, has received WBE certification from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council and is also certified by the state of Maryland as a Minority-Owned / Disadvantaged Business Enterprise.

MSBDFA funds are made available for working capital, supplies and materials, machinery and equipment acquisition, land acquisition or real estate improvements. Other uses may include the purchase of an existing franchise, construction or renovation and franchise fees or obtaining bid, performance and payment bonds for contracts, which receive the majority of their funding from federal, state or local government. MSBDFA’s financing activity continues to be supported through the repayment of loans, generation of interested income and the collection of fees.

Each member of the commission is appointed to serve a five-year term. Other members include Susanne Brogan, Deputy Treasurer for Public Policy, Office of the State Treasurer; Anita Graham, Partner Opportunity, Capital Partners; Charles P. Martin, Regional Community Reinvestment Officer/Legal Division, M&T Bank; Samuel Dean, and Paul Taylor, Executive Director, Baltimore City Small Business Resource Center. The MSBDFA Board is chaired by Celester A. Hall, Director, Small Business Financing, Maryland Department of Commerce.

MarketPoint provides outsourced and interim marketing management, market research, and branding and marketing strategy, for clients in the business-to-business, education and non-profit sectors. Founded in 2001, the firm helps clients to better understand and effectively address their marketplace, reposition their organizations, launch new products, penetrate new markets, build brand equity, thrive through mergers and acquisitions, foster brand-positive behavior throughout the organization, rebuild marketing departments, and address broader organizational challenges.