(Pictured Above) Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs Inc. (ACE) has added four new members to its board of directors (L to R): Dr. Eloisa Klementich, CEcD, president and CEO, Invest Atlanta, Grace Lopez-Williams, PFP, MBA, CTRS, CPA, president and CEO, Grace Williams CPA, P.C., Grace Webster, MBA, financial advisor, Wells Fargo Advisors and Charles Whatley, managing director, UrbanIS USA.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE || PR Contact: Debbie Fitzgerald, 770.887.6060 debbie@fitzgeraldpr.com
ATLANTA (August 8, 2016) – Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs Inc. (ACE) has added four new members to its board of directors to help steer the nonprofit’s future growth. This announcement was made today by Grace Fricks, president and CEO of ACE, the only community development financial institution serving small businesses in Metro Atlanta and North Georgia.
“Our new board members are financial and economic development professionals who are passionate about our mission to help grow sustainable small businesses in Georgia,” says Fricks. “They have diverse backgrounds, and each has been an ACE supporter or advisor for quite some time. We are so pleased that these stellar individuals have made a bigger commitment to our team.”
The following new board members have committed to a three-year term, which will end in December 2018:
- Dr. Eloisa Klementich, CEcD, president and CEO, Invest Atlanta
- Charles Whatley, managing director, UrbanIS USA
- Grace Webster, MBA, financial advisor, Wells Fargo Advisors
- Grace Lopez-Williams, PFP, MBA, CTRS, CPA, president and CEO, Grace Williams CPA, P.C.
These professionals join the 10 current members of the ACE board of directors. Click here to read the biographies of all board members.
ACE provides access to capital, business coaching and community connections to underserved small business owners, particularly women, people of color and those in low- to moderate-income communities. Since making its first loan 15 years ago, ACE has infused more than $36 million into the small-business community through a range of loan products, from small-business loans of less than $50,000 to larger commercial loans up to $500,000. With the exponential growth of women- and minority-owned small businesses in the Metro Atlanta region, ACE serves a critical role in providing capital and support to entrepreneurs who are typically overlooked by traditional financial institutions.
ACE celebrated the opening of its third office in June at the newly remodeled Flatiron building, the city’s oldest standing skyscraper at 84 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30303. With its Flatiron City location, ACE has a unique opportunity to provide support to the small businesses that call Flatiron home, including those from The Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative, and to be more closely connected to the nonprofit’s clients, business partners and philanthropic supporters in Atlanta.
About Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs Inc. (ACE)
ACE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that provides loans and business consulting services to help borrowers throughout metro Atlanta and North Georgia create and grow stable, sustainable businesses that generate jobs. ACE specializes in working with underserved populations, particularly women, minorities and low-income business owners, to help drive economic mobility and build stronger communities. Founded in 1999, ACE has loaned more than $36 million to entrepreneurs, which has created or saved more than 5,200 jobs in Georgia. As a nonprofit, ACE relies on operating and program grants and private contributions to support a portion of its budget. ACE has offices in downtown Atlanta and Cleveland, Ga., and an ACE Women’s Business Center in Norcross, Ga. For more information, visit www.aceloans.org.