Karie Armstrong has over 20 years’ experience helping retailers, service providers, restaurants and entrepreneurs successfully launch and grow their businesses in a wide variety of retail environments and markets. Her extensive background stems from shopping center management, marketing and development, as well as retail operations and manufacturing. Since she began working with the SBDC, she has helped thousands of small businesses. Her consulting expertise includes the development of overall strategic business and marketing plans, financial and sales projections, as well as site selection, tenant improvement issues and demystifying lease language.

Mike Huntley has over 30 years of sales and marketing experience in a variety of industries, including aerospace, automotive, healthcare, oil and gas, and electronics. He has worked with companies throughout the world, including Latin America, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

Lori Williams is a business consultant, speaker, and writer. She has over 30 years of experience in strategic planning, finance, marketing, and operations. Functioning as the chief strategist for her consulting agency, she has worked with middle market companies to build long-term sustainable growth. Her eBooks are distributed through Amazon, iTunes and Barnes & Noble.

As the Director of the Long Beach City College Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Brad Pollak specializes in business start-ups, leadership, management, marketing strategies, and business planning. Brad has 20+ years’ experience as a marketing executive and general manager in the music industry. He is also the owner of a career development consultancy in Long Beach. Brad grew up in the U.S., Mexico and in Europe and holds a BA from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.