One of the latest resources for minority-owned businesses in Utah has found its leadership.
Salt Lake Community College announced last Tuesday that Sidni Shorter, Psy.D., will be the first director for the Minority Business Center, established after the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded the college a Minority Business Development Agency grant last fall.
“By investing in and supporting minority-owned businesses, we begin today by building strong, competitive enterprises in the state of Utah,” Shorter said in a press release. “We are working today and preparing for a future that will need strong minority-owned business enterprises.”
Before her time in Utah, Shorter ran the accounting firm Execute Now! in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; she also developed the Wealth Esteem Fund, designed to invest in minority-owned businesses.
Shorter currently serves as president and CEO for the nonprofit Utah Black Chamber in conjunction with her new role at SLCC.
“I can’t think of a better person to take this new opportunity and serve minority business owners across the state, on behalf of the college,” Beth Colosimo, executive director for The Mill Entrepreneurship Center, said in the release sharing Shorter’s words.
The business center – to be located at SLCC’s Miller Campus as a division of The Mill, according to the release – is solely dedicated to the growth and development of minority-owned businesses. Utah was one of six states to recently introduce such centers.
To learn more about the newly announced business center or The Mill, visit utahminoritybusinesscenter.com and themillatslcc.com, respectively.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story included a misprint of Sidni Shorter’s last name. We apologize for the error.
