New Chief Small Business Officer Roxanne Nava Shares Her Passion for Entrepreneurialism
By: Ashmar Mandou

For Roxanne Nava surpassing excellence was nothing to gloat over. Growing up in a family of four siblings with parents who spoke little English, Nava learned early on in life that one should always go above and beyond of what is expected from them. “I remember my classmates would get bonuses for bringing home good grades,” laughed Nava. “One year, I came home with my report card full of A’s and I was so proud. I remember I showed my parents and I asked them if I could get some kind of award for getting good grades. My father looked at me and said, ‘well, you are supposed to get good grades, you don’t get bonuses for something you are supposed to do in life,’ and I have to tell you that stuck with me for the rest of my life.”

Inspired by her father’s words, Nava dedicated herself to working hard. A native Chicagoan, Nava has earned a decade of experience in the business sector, serving as the Director of the Illinois Financial Institutions and as Assistant Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Prior to joining the State of Illinois, Nava was a Vice President of The Northern Trust Company. Last month, Nava was recently appointed as the new Chief Small Business Officer for the City Hall Small Business Center. Nava spoke to Lawndale Bilingual Newspaper about her new role advocating for small businesses and why everyone should be a good corporate citizen.

New Appointment
I’m extremely excited. You know, I’m a native Chicagoan and I have been serving businesses and working on economic development for nine years at the state level and fifteen years in the banking industry here in Chicago providing businesses access to capital. So I’ve been watching what’s been happening in Chicago. The Mayor has a clear focus on small business and what I love is that he is making them a priority; it’s not just window dressing. So for a business, City Hall will be looked at as a partner, rather than an obstacle.

Sustaining Small Businesses
Businesses are the backbone of our economy. I was the Vice President at Northern Trust and I used to underwrite commercial lending for businesses so I know what the small businesses need from the private sector and I know how the public sector can help. So I’m excited because I worked my whole career creating paths for success for small businesses and I’m committed to making sure City Hall becomes an advocate for small businesses. We are the conduit for making sure we are a partner for the small businesses versus an obstacle…we are just going to use existing resources more effectively.

Love of Business
While at DePaul, what motivated me to concentrate my studies in finance was really to understand the economy and what drives it. While business focuses on, really making the owner’s passion a reality…my form of learning business was how the system worked, learning the movement of money, and learning more about business and finance at the government level. Throughout my whole career it’s been about, ‘how do I find a coalition, put people together where we can walk businesses through their different needs so that they can continue working on their needs. I work on providing the support they need.

Building the Entrepreneurial Spirit
I grew up and Little Village and Pilsen. I still have family there, we are entrenched. It’s not a community I left; it’s a community that I am in. And it’s great to see this entrepreneurial spirit because businesses shouldn’t be like a Ph.D., people should be able to navigate and to me it’s exciting to be able to provide that kind of service to our communities and say, ‘we want you in Chicago, we want to help you succeed, we want to be your cheerleader.’ I am happy to be a part of that change. Instead of businesses going to department to department, now, it’s going to be one business center, one person walking the business owner throughout the whole process.

Message to Youth
I think my biggest advice to youth is to not allow your circumstance to define you. I’m inspired by my parents. My parents are immigrants, who came here with no traditional skill sets, or formal education, or even knew the language, but they were able to raise four kids while working at a factory. What they taught us, and what I would like to share, is to be good corporate citizens where we are responsible. We are responsible for the well-being of our community, we are responsible for making changes, we are responsible for helping out our fellow man. I think we have to live good lives, where we are involved in our Church, in our Chamber of Commerce, involved in CAPS, involved in non-profit organizations. We need to reach out and become more active and build strong relationships so we can help each other grow.