Robert H. Nelson was appointed district director of SBA’s Massachusetts District Office on November 26, 2007. The district office is located in Boston with a branch office in Springfield, Massachusetts. Prior to his appointment as district director, Mr. Nelson served as branch manager of the Springfield, Mass. office.
Mr. Nelson began his SBA career in 1998 as a loan specialist for the Connecticut District Office in Hartford, Conn. He joined the Massachusetts District Office in 2000; first in the capacity of lead loan specialist/chief of portfolio management and later as branch manager.
As district director, Mr. Nelson is responsible for the effective delivery of SBA’s financial and business development programs with a mission to counsel, assist and protect the interest of small business statewide in order to maintain and strengthen the economy.
Mr. Nelson, together with a staff of 15 permanent SBA employees, will work to help entrepreneurs to start, grow and build their businesses. On the financial side, Mr. Nelson is responsible for increasing delivery of the popular 7(a) and 504 loan programs which help small businesses obtain access to capital. He is also responsible for SBA oversight of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center’s (MSBDC) statewide network, the seven Massachusetts chapters of SCORE: Counselors to America’s Small Business and the Massachusetts Women’s Business Center – the Center for Women & Enterprise.
Before joining the SBA, Bob spent a number of years with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as section chief of the medium/other assets division in the Franklin, Mass. consolidated field office. He also has a number of years of banking experience having been a commercial lender for several New England area banks. He was a Vice President at Shawmut Bank, R.I.
Mr. Nelson holds a BA degree in Economics from Hobart College in Geneva, New York. He and his wife, Debbi, have three sons, Brad, Mark and Christopher.
