The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has appointed Michael Fong to serve as Acting Regional Administrator for SBA programs, offices, and operations in the SBA’s Great Plains region VII, serving Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.  Fong is currently the Regional Administrator for Region X and oversees the operations in the SBA’s Pacific Northwest region serving Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

“I’m honored that SBA Administrator Isabel Guzman and the Biden-Harris Administration have the confidence in me to oversee operations in eight states across two different regions and I’m looking forward to spending time in the Great Plains to support small businesses,” Fong said.

Fong is based out of Seattle, Washington, where he most recently served as the City’s Senior Deputy Mayor.  He has over two decades of experience in various leadership roles in local government including as Chief Operating Officer for King County and as Chief Recovery and Resilience Officer for Snohomish County.

Region VII Regional Administrator Vercie Lark stepped down from his role in September to return to the private sector.

According to SBA data, Region VII has approximately 1.3 million small businesses and 2.8 million small business employees.