Our Managing Member brings an outstanding background to the firm. Most recently he concluded a 29 year career as a Public Servant at the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) . During his tenure at SBA he served in a number of managerial capacities including: Assistant Administrator of the Office of Innovation & Technology, where he provided oversight over the nation's largest Seed Capital Programs (Small Business Innovation Research-SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer-STTR) Assistant Deputy Administrator, Office of Business Development, where he oversaw varying components of the 8(a) Program including 8(a)certification, program development, 7(j), and mentor-protégé and he also served as a Financial Analyst in the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program managing a portfolio of public venture capital firms.
He has given testimony before the US House of Representatives (Committee on Small Business) and has participated on both House and Senate Congressional Roundtables.
Other experience includes owning and operating a D.C. based Law Firm ( Law Office of Edsel M. Brown Jr., PLLC ) specializing in legal aspects related to Small Business, Government Affairs, and Entertainment (he is a member of the Bars of DC and PA) and has served as a Financial Services Professional owning a Liberty Tax Franchise and serving as an Investment and Insurance Consultant with several FINRA Broker Dealers.
Edsel's educational background includes B.A. (Government/Political Science) and M. P. A. (Public Administration) degrees from Ohio University, and a J.D. from the University of Toledo College of Law (served as President of the Black Law Student Association). He has also completed a training program at the Venture Capital Institute and has held Insurance and FINRA Series 7 and 63 (Securities Professional) Registrations.
He is also an Accredited Small Business Consultant (ASBC) certified by the Association of Accredited Small Business Consultants (AASBC).
An active member of the community Edsel has served as a member of the Calvert County (MD) Economic Development Commission Chairman-Economic Development for the Maryland State NAACP, Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, Maryland Chamber of Commerce, Calvert County (MD) Chamber of Commerce, Calvert County Minority Business Alliance (MD) (Board Member), Anne Arundel Black Chamber of Commerce (MD) (Board Member), Friends of Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum (MD)(Board Member), Calvert Concept Charitable Corporation (MD) (Board Member), and currently as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Southern Maryland Minority Chamber of Commerce. He is a Life Member of the NAACP and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
He has been the recipient of a number of awards including: Small Business Person of the Year (Southern Maryland Minority Chamber of Commerce) Joe Mann's Black Wall Street Award (BmoreNews.com) President's Award (Maryland State NAACP), Marquis Who's Who in America and Recognized as One of the Outstanding African American Men of Calvert County, MD, (Calvert County, MD Public Library).
Edsel brings a dynamic presence to the firm and through his body of experience, we are able to offer keen insights and guidance to our clients in the several areas of our service.
