Last week, through our new Advise the Advisor program, I asked small businesses and entrepreneurs for their feedback on the challenges and obstacles they’re facing.

We heard from small business owners and entrepreneurs around the country.  On Tuesday, during a special live discussion at the Winning the Future Forum on Small Business in Cleveland, I addressed some of the questions and concerns you submitted, and President Obama even dropped by to take a few of your questions as well.

Yesterday, I was in Cleveland with President Obama, a large contingent of his Cabinet, and about 150 small business owners.  The President opened the day by telling the small business owners that the goal was “to hear from you, to gain your counsel, and to talk about how America can help you succeed so that you can keep helping America succeed.” 

In my breakout session on Entrepreneurship, we heard from 25 small business owners.  The President stopped by and had the chance to talk with a barbecue restaurant owner, a portable microwave manufacturer, a woman-owned construction company, and others.

Several topics came up.  We talked about how access to capital is still a big problem for too many entrepreneurs and small business owners.  We discussed the importance of the small business tax cuts that the President has already signed into law.  We talked about promoting more high-growth entrepreneurship through efforts like Startup America.  And we discussed ways to identify and remove barriers to entrepreneurship, including a new series of roundtables in entrepreneurial communities that will be kicked off next week in Durham, North Carolina.

We need to do everything we can to support those small business owners – and others across America – because they’re the ones that are working every day to out-innovate, out-build, and out-compete the rest of the world.

Moving forward, we’ll continue to support regional economies like Northeast Ohio as they work to create good jobs.  The SBA, for example, has helped support a clustering effort led by a local high-tech economic development organization called NorTech, which the President discussed in his closing remarks.  And we’re also expanding a successful and intensive entrepreneur training program to nearby Youngstown, Ohio.

And all of us throughout the Administration will continue to listen to the needs of entrepreneurs and small business owners, using their feedback and insights to ensure that we’re supporting them as they grow our economy and create jobs.

Ed. Note: This post is part of the Celebrating Black History Month series, which highlights African Americans from across the Administration whose work contributes to the President's goals for winning the future.

As Surgeon General, I am privileged to serve as “America’s Doctor,” providing the public with the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and the health of the nation. I also oversee the operational command of 6,500 uniformed health officers in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service. These officers serve in locations around the world to promote, protect, and advance the health of the American People.

I grew up in Daphne, Alabama, and graduated from high school in the nearby town of Fairhope. I received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Xavier University in New Orleans and attended Morehouse School of Medicine before receiving my medical degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. I later obtained a masters’ degree in business administration from Tulane University in New Orleans. After completing my family medicine residency in Macon, Georgia, I established a clinic in a small fishing village in Alabama to help its many uninsured residents. That clinic in Bayou La Batre is still operating today, despite being destroyed by Hurricane Georges in 1998, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and a devastating fire in 2006.  President Obama nominated me for the Surgeon General’s post in July 2009, and I was confirmed by the Senate for that position in November of the same year.

Prevention is the foundation of public health, and prevention is the foundation of my work as Surgeon General. If we want to truly reform health care in this country, we need to prevent people from getting sick in the first place, and stop disease before it starts. In the health reform law that was enacted in 2010, Congress created a commission to develop the first-ever national prevention strategy, and named me to chair the commission. The panel, made up of the heads of 17 federal departments and agencies, is providing coordination and leadership at the federal level to ensure that the government is focused on prevention.

Before becoming Surgeon General, I served on the Sullivan Commission, a blue-ribbon panel that looked for ways to diversify the health care workforce. The commission found that, while 25 percent of the nation’s population is minority, only 6 percent of physicians are minorities.  That is the same percentage that existed when a similar report was issued in 1910–100 years earlier. Meanwhile, less than 9 percent of nurses are minorities.

Although the nation’s minority populations are increasing, in recent years there has been a downward trend in minority enrollment at our nation’s medical, dental and nursing schools. Unless current trends are quickly reversed, our nation faces a growing ethnic and racial disconnect between those who seek care and those who provide that excellent care.

Dr. Regina Benjamin is the Surgeon General of the United States.

The HealthCare.gov family on Facebook is growing. Today, the Department of Health and Human Services launched a new page dedicated to making sure that young adults and their parents know the steps they need to take to stay insured. The new facebook page contains step-by-step instructions on how young adults can stay on their parents’ plan and features a video with Kalpen Modi, Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Ed. Note: This post is part of the Celebrating Black History Month series, which highlights African Americans from across the Administration whose work contributes to the President's vision for winning the future.

I come from a family of small business owners and have seen firsthand how important they are to strengthening our communities and our economy.  My grandfather owned a landscaping company in my hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana.  As one of the first African-American owned business in Indiana to win a statewide contract, his company maintained the land around state highways.  After my uncle earned his degree in pharmaceutical science at Howard University, my grandfather helped him start his own pharmacy, which served the city’s African-American community.  Their spirit of entrepreneurship has always inspired me.  Following a 21 year career in the telecommunications industry, I founded my own small business: an organizational effectiveness and public policy consulting practice.

A proud graduate of Indiana University, I worked my way up from a first level manager position at Verizon Washington, and as an African-American, became the first woman to lead the company.  Whether serving as president of a major telecom provider or chairing the DC Chamber of Commerce, I have been committed to Main Street and underserved communities throughout my professional life.  I created Students Educated for Economic Development Success (SEEDS), a mentoring program that prepared over 200 high school dropouts for entry-level jobs in the telecommunications industry.  I also served as the founding chair of the Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science.

Now, as Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), I have the privilege of supporting the small businesses that are innovating, growing the economy, and creating jobs every day.  I am especially focused on helping the SBA reach businesses in underserved markets, such as African-American communities.  These businesses often have a harder time getting the tools and financing they need in order to compete and thrive.  Our loan programs help banks lend more to small businesses everywhere, and our counselors reach millions of entrepreneurs and small business owners each year.

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit with several minority-owned businesses in Columbia, South Carolina.  Like small companies throughout the country, these businesses have struggled, but they are poised for growth.  Their message was abundantly clear: give us the tools we need to innovate and grow, and not only will we survive these tough economic times, but we will prosper for years to come.

I am honored to serve a President who truly understands how important small businesses are to our nation and who is dedicated to ensuring that they have access to the resources they need to flourish.

Marie Johns is the Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration

A quick look at the week of February 14, 2011:

A Budget for Winning the Future: The President unveils his 2012 Budget. Find out more about what's in it, explore an interactive breakdown of where your tax dollar go, and learn how it puts America back on a track to fiscal discipline while still investing in the future.

White House White Board: OMB Director Jack Lew discusses the tough choices made in the 2012 Budget.

Race to the Top: The deadline to apply for the Race to the Top Commencement Challenge, and to have President Obama speak at your high school's commencement, is February 25th. See what happened last year when the President surprised graduating seniors at Kalamazoo Central High School, the winners of last year's Commencement Challenge.

School reform is often portrayed as an unavoidable conflict between labor (teachers) and management (superintendents and principals).  Well, earlier this week I joined a conference of local teachers’ union presidents, school district superintendents and school board presidents that are working together to make important inroads against that conventional wisdom.

These educators represent 150 school districts, and they came together to talk about how to use labor-management collaboration to improve student achievement and transform schools. Each participating district was required to bring each of these kinds of leaders, so that all the decision makers were at the table. Even more, in order to be selected each team had to commit to continuing this work beyond just a few days in Denver, pledging to address tough issues like evaluation, professional development and top to bottom accountability.

Today the President is in Hillsboro, Oregon to visit the Intel campus, where he’ll get to see the world’s most advanced semiconductor manufacturing facility with Intel CEO Paul Otellini. The President will also learn more about Intel’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education programs and check out student demonstrations by Intel Science Talent Search finalists.

It’s a perfect demonstration of the importance of out-educating our competitors in order to win the future, and that’s what the President will talk about afterwards – watch the live stream here at 2:35PM EST, 11:35AM PST:

UPDATE: This event has now concluded, check WhiteHouse.gov/video later for the recording.

UPDATE: The deadline for the Race to the Top Commencement Challenge has been extended to March 11, 2011.  This post has been updated to reflect that change. Apply now!

Ed. Note: The Race to the Top Commencement Challenge is back! Applications for the 2011 Commencement Challenge are open until March 11. To learn more about the Commencement Challenge and submit your application visit WhiteHouse.gov/Commencement.

Every wondered what would happen if the President of the United States walked into an auditorium full of unsuspecting high school seniors? 

That’s exactly what happened on June 7, 2010 when President Obama surprised the graduating class at Kalamazoo Central High School, the winners of the 2010 Race to the Top Commencement Challenge.

Last year, President Obama delivered the commencement address at Kalamazoo Central High School and he could deliver the commencement address at your school this year – but only if you apply before March 11, 2011.