Staff

Debbie Chandler
Executive Director

Debbie came to MAC in 2006 from the banking industry, where her most recent post was as a Senior Vice President at Bank of America. She held various positions throughout her banking career, including lending officer, commercial banking officer, branch manager, private banking officer, and department manager. She managed the Microloan Fund at MAC until she was named Executive Director. She is a graduate of the University of Arizona in Agricultural Economics. 

Lillian Perez
Programs Director, Women’s Business Center

Lillian has experience working for state, local, federal, and tribal entities.  She brings a wide range of public-sector experience from such agencies as the United Way of Southern Arizona, The San Xavier District of the Tohono O’Odham Nation, Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Mexican Consulate, and the Arizona Governor’s Office. In addition, she possesses vast experience managing different programs in the community. She is proudly a graduate of the University of Arizona in Business Administration and holds the following professional certifications: International Business, Professional Project Management, Human Resources Management, Fiscal Management, Leadership and Supervision, and Partnership Building/Organization. Multilingual and multicultural in Spanish, French and English.

Tom Shambo
Director, Small Business Development Center

Tom’s 25 years of entrpreneurial experience as a consultant and software developer lead to opportunities of leading the information security team at CapGemini.  Tom currently serves as the Director of the Small Business Development Center where he has served for 5 years as a Business Analyst.  Tom has a degree in Business Management from the University Bellevue, Nebraska and is a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and continues his small business ownership.

Karen Burns
Microlending Director

Karen has a lifetime of experience in the Arizona commercial banking industry.  She has worked as a corporate underwriter, portfolio manager, and litigation manager.  She received a Senate Confirmation to the Arizona State Land Department Board of Appeals and during five years of service held each board officer position, including President of the Board.  She has served on the boards of Lohse YMCA, Friends of Sabino Canyon, Tucson Arts District Partnership, Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation Advisory Board, and has chaired the Annual Fund Campaign for St. Michael’s School.  She is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Association of Greater Tucson and served as a charter board member of National Charity League’s Tucson Chapter.  Karen received her BA and MBA from the University of Arizona.  She brings a strong financial background and a long history of service to Arizona and the Tucson community. 

Bob Fick
Business Analyst, Small Business Development Center

Bob spent over twenty-five years as a Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of fast growing and public companies, primarily in the computer, software and telecommunications industries.  Between coporate assignments, he also started and managed his own software business.  Bob’s coporate involvement included the turnaround of a venture capital funded computer software company, which he eventually took public, the turnaround of a publicly traded telecommunications manufacturer, the turnaround of a telecommunications distribution company, and the start-up of an e-retailer.  Bob holds a degree in business from the University of Arizona and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Redlands in California. 

Alex Cooper
Business Analyst, Small Business Development Center

Alex has spent over 35 years in commercial banking in California and Arizona, specializing in commercial lending and cash management services to small business owners.  He is a former adjunt faculty member of Pima Community College, lecturing in accounting, finance and marketing.  Alex also has served as a guest lecturer and mentor to University of Arizona finance majors at the Eller College of Management and McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship.  He is a University of Arizona graduate in Business Administration and holds an MBA from Golden Gate University, San Francisco.  He has received numerious regional, state and national recognition awards for his excellence in servicing the small business owners and advocate for fostering successful minority businesses in Arizona.  He is a member of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and served on many community organizations including the International Rotary Club, Junior Achievement, United Way and YMCA.

Jerone Davis
Training Manager

Jerone provides classroom instruction, case management, and consulting for English speaking clients at MAC. Jerone completed a BSEE from Northern Arizona University in 1992 and a MBA in Business Management from University of Phoenix in 2002, and is working on his Ph.D. in Education from Walden University. Jerone has reviewed hundreds of business plans and consulted with more than 150 businesses in the Tucson area.

José Tornero
Training Manager – Spanish Programs

José provides all Spanish services for training and consulting at MAC. José graduated from the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico UNAM as an Attorney with a Master in International Trading, and has been a business consultant for small business for 15 years. He has consulted for the Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs, Mount Hood Community College SBDC, and Clackamas Community College SBDC. His teaching experience includes Business Planning, Economic Development, Economics at the University of The Southeast, and the SBDC.

Rozanna Bejarano
Operations Coordinator/Grants Management

Rozanna, a native Tucsonan and graduate of Salpointe High School with an education in Business Administration has been with the Microbusiness Advancement Center for 6 years and has over 10 years experience working with non-profits.  At MAC, Rozanna is the Operations Coordinator and Grants Manager.  Rozanna’s daily operations include; purchasing, internal IT & communications systems support, client program services, human resources and audit services.  Rozanna is also spearheading MAC graduations and other special events.  In the last 3 consecutive years, she has dedicated her time to sitting on the board of the Minority Enterprise Development Week an Annual event that is the largest federally sponsored event on minority enterprise development.

Sara Olivo
Administrative Assistant

Sara moved to Tucson from Nogales 5 years ago and is currently in her senior year at the University of Arizona, she will graduate May of 2011 with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Sociology.  She hopes to have a career working for a non-profit organization doing grant writing and/or program directing.  Sara has 7 years of retail experience where she held a supervisory role.  She volunteered for the Sbarra Lab in the psychology department at the U of A, where she launched a new study that measures the psychological effects a military deployment has on a non-deployed spouse.  Sara worked for the Microbusiness Advancement Center from March 2008 to August 2009 and returned in May 2010 as the Administrative Assistant.  Sara is fluent in both Spanish and English. 

Director of Outreach
Position Open