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Robert Nelson
District Director - Massachusetts at U.S. Small Business Administration
Robert Nelson is a seasoned professional with a strong background in finance and SBA loans, having served in various leadership roles at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), including District Director for Massachusetts.
In his role, Robert was instrumental in promoting and delivering various SBA programs like SBA loans, Microloans, government contracting assistance, and disaster assistance, helping Massachusetts entrepreneurs access over $29 Billion of capital support.
Robert Nelson also played a key role in overseeing the rollout of important programs like PPP, EIDL, RRF, and SVOG through lender training, small business outreach, and media engagements, establishing strong relationships with stakeholders and positioning the MA SBA as one of the most productive in the U.S.
His expertise lies in finance, SBA loans, loan workouts, and restructures, with a focus on helping small businesses start and grow. Robert completed the Excellence in Government Fellows program, emphasizing his commitment to driving innovation and delivering results.
Educationally, Robert studied Economics at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, attended the Florida Institute of Technology, and completed college prep at Pomfret School.
His professional journey includes significant roles at esteemed organizations such as the U.S. Small Business Administration, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and various banks where he held leadership positions.
Highlights
The MA SBA wants to thank Tyrone Fells and Pardis Saffari for the City of Cambridge's support of Wednesday's in person Access to Capital and Resources matchmaker and networking event @ the Cambridge Foundry !!! Met so many wonderful small businesses and TA providers. We offered a Capital panel moderated by Lead Lender Relations Specialist Carlos Hernandez and a Government Contracting panel moderated by SBA Business Development Specialist Tyrone Williams. Wonderful to publicly announce our new strategic alliance with the Better Business Bureau - Thank you Danielle Bass , Community Relations & Event Marketing Manager @ BBB of Eastern MA, Maine, RI and NH. These events have become extremely popular - Next up are similar events in New Bedford, Fall River and then Lawrence en Espanol. Similar to previous events, most of the small businesses in the room are looking for growth and expansion capital, but also a number of new businesses and folks with a great idea. Terrific networking. Love small business !
On 8/26 SBA Lead Lender Relations Specialist Carlos Hernandez joined MA District Director Bob Nelson for a visit to Rockland Trust to present the bank with the MA SBA Lender of the Quarter Award for the 3rd Q of FY24. Rockland is now the 3rd most active lender in MA by loan approvals and has significantly increased use of SBA over the previous FY and for the current year to date has 106 approvals for over $33 million! Joining from the bank were Jeff Hansel, MBA, First VP and SBA Market Executive and James Rizzo. Chief Commercial Banking Officer and EVP. Congratulations to the small business team at Rockland.
