University of Nevada, Reno
Nevada Small Business Development Center
University of Nevada, Reno
College of Business
Business Building, Room 411
Reno, Nevada 89557-0032
Phone: (775) 784-1717
The Reno office of the Nevada Small Business Development Center (Nevada SBDC) houses the State Director and many of the Nevada SBDC's specialty programs. The Bureau of Business and Economic Research, Geographic Information Services, Technology Transfer, the Nevada State Demographer, and the Nevada SBDC Resource Library are all located in the state office. The Director of Counseling, State Training Director, Director of Research and Assistant State Director call the Reno office home. The student intern department provides research and information to counselors throughout the state.
A new partnership formed in 1998 brought the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) office to the Nevada SBDC. SCORE counselors provide 2 hours of counseling services each day to new clients, freeing up the Nevada SBDC counselors for follow-up and expanded service to existing clients.
Full-time counseling services are offered through the Reno office, as well as part-time services provided to Carson City and Carson Valley. The state office presents nearly 100 training events each year in the Reno/Sparks, Carson City, and Carson Valley areas. Statewide programs are coordinated from the Reno office with program delivery to all Nevada SBDC centers, past examples include Y2K, Small Business Loan Expo, etc. Several research projects are developed, designed, and delivered with a multitude of partners and sponsors.
The state office is located in Room 411 of the Ansari Business Building on the University of Nevada, Reno campus. For more information about the Nevada SBDC services, or to make an appointment with a SCORE counselor or an SBDC management consultant, please call (775) 784-1717 or email admin@nevadasbdc.org.
Reno Staff
Kayla Banda
Business Development Advisor
Business Development Advisor
Kayla Banda joined the Nevada SBDC as a Marketing Intern in the Spring of 2017. After graduating with a BS in Marketing and Entrepreneurship and an MBA, Kayla now works as a Business Development Advisor. She has specific experience with
Karen Coe
Operations Coordinator
Operations Coordinator
Karen Coe, is the Operations Manager for the Nevada Small Business Development Center, and the Project Manager for Made in Nevada. She has been with the Nevada SBDC since 2014 and works in Reno at the University of Nevada,
Jake Carrico
Business Development Advisor
Business Development Advisor
Jake, Business Development Advisor, has been with the Nevada SBDC since 2013. He works in the Reno office. Jake has experience in preparing financial projections and valuations for small businesses, conducting financial analyses, drafting and reviewing business plans, creating marketing
Chris Lynch
Director BEP
Director BEP
Chris, Director of the Nevada Business Environmental Program (BEP), has been with the Nevada SBDC since 2010. Mr. Lynch and his consulting team provide assistance to hundreds of business owners and entrepreneurs annually on a broad range of issues including
Brian Bonnenfant
Project Manger Center for Regional Studies
Project Manger Center for Regional Studies
Brian is the Project Manager for the Center for Regional Studies where he has conducted a wide variety of mapping and analyses at the University of Nevada, Reno since 1994. Brian specializes in spatial analyses including site selection, market area,
Ben Tedore
Web Communications Specialist
Web Communications Specialist
Web Communications Specialist, has been with the Nevada SBDC since 2005. He works in Reno at the University of Nevada, Reno location. Mr. Tedore has specific experience with digital marketing, web development, social media, IT and graphic design. He previously
Duke Nishimura
Business Development Advisor
Business Development Advisor
Duke joined the Nevada SBDC in 2020 as a Consulting Director for the Black Rock Incubator and then as a Business Advisor in the University of Nevada, Reno office. Duke’s experience includes business management, entrepreneurship, international business, and business consulting.
Sam Males
State Director
State Director
Director of the Nevada Small Business Development center, manages 14 statewide offices that provide a wide array of technical assistance to Nevada’s businesses. In 1985, Males wrote the original NSBDC proposal to create the program within the College of Business.
Winnie Dowling
Deputy State Director
Deputy State Director
Winnie, Deputy Director, has been with the Nevada SBDC since 1991. She works in Reno at the University of Nevada, Reno location. Ms. Dowling has an MBA and an undergraduate degree in Computer Information Systems. Ms. Dowling has specific experience
Sandra Rentas
Business Development Advisor
Business Development Advisor
Bio coming soon...
Nancy Dahl
Client Intake Specialist
Client Intake Specialist
Nancy has worked at the Reno, Nevada SBDC office since 2006 in the capacity of ‘client specialist’. Nancy is the first point of contact for most clients and is responsible for discerning their needs and placing them with the appropriate
Rod Jorgensen
Senior Business Development Advisor
Senior Business Development Advisor
Rod is the Senior Business Development Advisor for the Nevada Small Business Development Center (Nevada SBDC), located in the College of Business at the University of Nevada, Reno. Rod has been the Senior Business Development Advisor since he arrived to
Eric Florio
Air Quality Specialist
Air Quality Specialist
Eric Florio joined the BEP in January as our new Air Quality Specialist Business Advisor. Eric will work out
of BEP’s office in Reno and will provide air quality assistance statewide under our new contract with the
Nevada Division of
Brad Scribner
Made in Nevada Associate Project Coordinator
Made in Nevada Associate Project Coordinator
Born and raised in Nevada, Brad graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno, in 2015 with a degree in Journalism. He is passionate about his work with small businesses, and loves nothing more than connecting, promoting, and supporting the entrepreneurs