Acevedo heads Northwest Business Development

Gil Acevedo, who worked for 20 years at the Small Business Administration’s Spokane office, has become president of the Northwest Business Development Association.

He succeeds Fred Schunter, who retired.

Acevedo joined the NWBDA in the spring as vice president, then took over Schunter’s post in October. At the SBA, Acevedo was most recently the agency’s senior commercial loan officer.

Acevedo, 56, spent 10 years with U.S. Bank before joining the SBA.

The NWBDA is a for-profit company that’s licensed to administer SBA loans to small and medium-sized businesses.

It also manages a micro-loan program that provides up to $10,000 to start-up businesses. Among the Spokane businesses using that service were Chicken-n-More and Northwest Tree Service.

The 15-person operation has offices in downtown Spokane and in Renton. Acevedo said the company has a portfolio of loans totaling $150 million.

While the NWBDA has seen strong growth in the Seattle area, Acevedo said his goal is to expand services in the Spokane area. That plan includes efforts to expand into Coeur d’Alene and Kootenai County, he said.