Sheila A. Mixon

Sheila A. Mixon is Senior Vice President of the Business Development & Entrepreneurship Department for the Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio (ULGSO) where she provides vision, leadership, organizational governance and strategic direction for the department. The Department programs include the SBDC (Small Business Development Center), the Economic Empowerment Center (AABDP) and WBEC ORV (Women’s Business Enterprise Council Ohio River Valley), where she serves as its Executive Director. WBEC ORV is a certifying entity for the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

Ms. Mixon has 41 years in business development experience; the financial services industry and not-for-profit organizations. During her time with ULGSO she has garnered many awards and recognition for her work with small business owners. Through her leadership, the SBDC was selected by the SBA Columbus District as the Small Business Development Center of Excellence and Innovation Award recipient for 2012. In 2011, was selected as the SBA Minority Business Champion. She was awarded the 2016 Women’s Business Champion by NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners, 2016 Women of Excellence and the establishment the Sheila A. Mixon Women’s Entrepreneurial Start-up Fund by the Women of Color Foundation.  In 2017 Sheila was recognized as a Women of Color 2017 Hall of Fame Inductee and 2017 Women of Influence Awardee. Was honored as a 2019 YWCA Career Women of Achievement honoree, awarded the Entrepreneurship Center Program Champion by the National Urban League and most recently, recognized by DiversityPlus Magazines as a 2020 Top 25 Women In Power Impacting Diversity.

Ms. Mixon was recently appointed to the Cincinnati Academic Center Advisory Committee for Union Institute & University and is a member of the City of Cincinnati’s small business commission, the Small Business Advisory Council, the Advisory Board for the City’s Department of Economic Inclusion, the Cleveland Clinic Supplier Diversity Advisory Council and the MetroHealth Supplier Diversity Council. She also serves on the Board of Directors for HCDC and HCDC Entrepreneur Assistance Committee, appointed to the Kauffman Advisory Group for the Kauffman Foundation and to the WBENC Board of Directors.

Ms. Mixon has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration (concentration Finance) from The Ohio State University.

Back to the Legislative Policy Conference