Ray Bowman, M.S., CGBP, is the director of the Small Business Development Center of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. He's a business veteran with more than 30 years' experience. He started three businesses, including an international trade consulting firm, and has worked as a consultant, trainer, and manager for several SBDC offices. Ray is a specialized consultant in international trade logistics, trade finance, vendor compliance, import and export compliance management, and overseas vendor and buyer issues. He has been an international and national keynote speaker and presenter in logistics infrastructure, international marketing, import and export, non-tariff trade barriers, and international export economy. Ray has taught classes at several colleges and universities and is adjunct at Babson in Executive Education.

Ray has a Green Belt in Lean Six Sigma and is the program chair for the District Export Council of Southern California.

Specialities: Government Relations, CApital Access, Civic Engagement, Leadership.

Tracy Beard has served as Executive Director of the Solvang Chamber of Commerce since 2015. Prior to joining the Chamber, Tracy worked as Human Resources Manager at Marriott Corporation Restaurants Division in Washington, D.C. specializing in workforce development for over 25 years. She has owned and operated a property management company for the past 30 years. Tracy currently serves as President of The Association of California Commissions for Women (ACCW) who works to ensure the implementation of key policy and legislative changes for women in business. 

Specialties: Tracy is an advocate for female entrepreneurs and regularly lends her expertise to local nonprofits looking to build their fundraising capacity and improve operational efficiency.

Marvin Boateng, MPPA, has more than ten years experience in the banking and finance industry. His area of expertise include small business and SBA lending, financial analysis valuation and business development. In 2013, Marvin was recognized by the Pacific Coast Business Times "40 under 40" for his passion for public service. Before working for the EDC, Marvin was a branch manager at U.S. Bank.

Specialties: Finance & Loan Packaging, Venture Matchmaking

Shelby Arthur has been an active member of the Santa Barbara community since 2001, working in program development, employee training, instructional design, and marketing, emphasizing scalable mission-driven program growth. Shelby is a Certified Connective Leadership Practitioner, transforming organizational culture to empower all employees to practice leadership in their roles. As an adjunct instructor at Santa Barbara City College, Shelby is at the forefront of online instructional design in Marketing and International Business. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Global Studies from UC Santa Barbara and a Master’s Degree in Intercultural Relations from University of the Pacific.  

Shelby is co-founder of CozDrvn, a consulting firm that helps businesses align mission and strategy to benefit all stakeholders and engage socially conscious consumers. She specializes in organizational resilience, target marketing and scalable program design. Shelby is Vice President on the Board of the Center for Global Dialogue and has volunteered time with local organizations such as Showing up for Racial Justice, United Way Santa Barbara, and Girls Inc. 

Juliana Ramirez is an accountant, entrepreneur, business adviser and Certified QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor. With over 20 years of experience, she has trained and helped small businesses including her own—from restaurants to retails stores, car dealerships to dental offices and Non-profit organizations.