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Mel Washington

Mel is the Regional Manager of the Alabama SBDC in South Alabama, where he provides one on one confidential counseling to aspiring and existing small business owners in six counties in South Alabama. He is also the former Executive Director & CEO of Project Enterprise, a micro-lending organization supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses in under-resourced communities in New York City.

Mr. Washington holds an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from Howard University, a Masters in Business Administration from New York University and completed the Administration Executive Education Program at Wharton School of Business. He has held executive level positions in Finance, Operations, and Strategy and Planning in the financial services and telecommunications sectors. His career includes successful stints at top tier firms including AT&T, Salomon Brothers, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase, and Citibank.

Mr. Washington has demonstrated a strong commitment to community and economic development throughout his career, and has served on the Boards of several organizations in Mobile and the New York City Area. He is the former Chairman and current member of the Board of Directors for Prichard Preparatory School; member of the Community Development Advisory Council for Hancock Whitney Bank; member of the Board of Directors for Innovation Portal; member of the Advisory Board for the Melton Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at USA; member of the Board of Directors for The Mobile Ballet; former member of the Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Club of South Alabama; former Vice President of the Board of Mobile Baykeeper; and formerly on the Boards of LiftFund in Austin Texas, the Gulf Coast Angel Network, and the History Museum of Mobile. He was also a judge for Alabama Launchpad 2013 & 2015, a state-wide competition that offers up to $250,000 to high-growth and innovative startups across Alabama.

Mr. Washington is also active in several entrepreneur programs at the University of South Alabama: Teaching Team Member for the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps (I-Corps); Minority Business Accelerator Program; and Minority Business Development Program. In addition, he is an Expert in Residence at Innovation Portal, a non-profit incubator and innovation hub accelerating startup growth in Southwest Alabama and the central Gulf Coast.

Yolanda ‘Yo’ Johnson

Yolanda “Yo” Johnson, Business Advisor, started with the Alabama SBDC program in 1989 as the first procurement specialist in West Alabama then had a couple year stint as Director of the center located at the University of West Alabama. She returned to the network as a Business Advisor in 2014 after gaining extensive experience in non-profit management, business development and leadership in the architectural, engineering and construction industries, and after starting her own leadership consulting company. Yo holds undergraduate degree in Business Management from Auburn University, master’s degree in Business Education from University of West Alabama and extensive post graduate work in Economic Development from Auburn University, University of Oklahoma and University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is a 6th generation native to Coastal Alabama and is passionate about her community.

Gerald Dunlop

Gerald Dunlop is the Procurement Advisor for an eight-county area in southwest Alabama. He assists businesses with registering in the System for Award Management (SAM) and applying for the 8(a) Business Development Program, HUBZone certification, Woman-Owned Small Business certification, as well as other certifications. He also assists clients with locating bid opportunities and preparing bid proposals. He is a Certified Procurement Professional and a Level III Certified Contracting Assistance Specialist with the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, the professional organization of procurement technical assistance programs. He is also a VA Certification Counselor and a Certified Business Advisor with ASBDC. He has been with the Network since 1999. Prior to that, he was a journalist for many years. He has an MBA in management and a BA in journalism.