SANTA ANA, Calif. – Menifee-based digital media company Hispanic Lifestyle on June 16 honored Michael A. Ocasio as one of its 2021 Executives of Influence during an annual business leadership event. Ocasio serves as chief executive officer and president of Small Business Development Corporation of Orange County in Santa Ana. 

Hispanic Lifestyle’s BizCon2021 was presented virtually on such platforms as YouTube and Facebook and offered insights from eight experts in marketing, banking, education, outreach, and business resources through interviews conducted by company founder Richard Sandoval. The program lineup included profiles of small businesses that are “Surviving to Thrive” and concluded with a round of interviews highlighting five awardees of the Executive of Influence recognition. Approximately 700 attendees registered for the virtual BizCon2021 with additional viewers able to tune in. The show’s segments will be made available on Hispanic Lifestyle’s website.

“I’ve known Mike for years, I’ve admired Mike for years. He does so much for his community and it was time he was recognized,” Sandoval said. He personally selected Ocasio for the Executive of Influence recognition which typically involves a nomination process to honor leaders who contribute to their organizations and communities. He noted Ocasio’s personal dedication in helping small business leaders by providing advice, inspiring drive and focus, and helping them form connections. “He’s helping the small business community, specifically the Latino community, realize their dreams,” Sandoval said.

“It was such an honor to be recognized by Hispanic Lifestyle and to be able to talk about the history of our corporation and the services it provides, in particular to small business owners of color,” Ocasio said. “Richard Sandoval and his company are providing such an important service for the Hispanic community by highlighting all those making an impact and I am privileged to be a part of that effort.”

Ocasio, a native of the Bronx, N.Y. and long-time Southern California resident is a founding member of the Small Business Development Corporation which focuses on the development of underserved communities and funding opportunities for small businesses owned by minorities, women, veterans and the disabled. Established in 2001, the corporation is a nonprofit public-private economic development organization residing under the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, known as IBank. It is one of seven development corporations around the state that comprise The Association of Financial Development Corporations, an industry trade association led by Ocasio.

Over the past 20 years, Ocasio has overseen the expansion of SBDC-OC’s board to incorporate a cross-section of experts in banking, law, technology, finance, business, and higher education, and has spearheaded the corporation’s growth to encompass the array of California’s capital access programs assisting small business owners including the organization’s direct capital utilized to create its direct lending assistance program the Entrepreneur Loan Fund launched in 2018 which broadens the corporation’s capacity in terms of services for the small business community. 

While the organization receives some financial support through grants, donations and outside investment, its public component allows it to leverage public dollars, Ocasio said during his interview with Sandoval. “We use that authority to support credit commitments issued through commercial lenders to California-based companies that maybe cannot take advantage of the mainstream capital markets ostensibly, a commercial bank, or credit union or Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), and we could guarantee the credit transaction for the lender.”

Going forward, SBDC-OC will add State Small Business Credit Initiative funds via the American Rescue Plan Act to its portfolio of funding opportunities and is in the process of applying for certification through the U.S. Treasury Department to function as a Community Development Financial Institution, which will extend its assistance to housing developers and low-income individuals. In September 2021, Ocasio, his staff and the corporation’s board of directors will celebrate SBDC-OC’s 20th anniversary and the impact of helping hundreds of small businesses and their regions move forward.

Ocasio has served as a community economic developer for more than 25 years and is a former senior commercial banking officer. His career launched just out of college when he was recruited to a position with a major money center bank in San Francisco and its credit training program which landed him in commercial and industrial lending. His clients included development corporations which later served as a bridge into the career field of economic development.  

Throughout his career he has strived to better his community through ongoing involvement in a variety of nonprofits and agencies whose work supports social services, affordable housing, and diversity initiatives. These activities include serving as the past chairman of Family Services Association, the largest non-profit social services agency in the Inland Empire, and as a commissioner with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Commission on Recruitment, Retention and Diversity. 

A graduate of the University of Illinois, Ocasio holds certification as an Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) from the National Development Council, New York, N.Y. 

ABOUT SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OF ORANGE COUNTY 

SBDC of Orange County (http://sbfdoc.org) is a quasi-public/private 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public benefit corporation, which operates under the state’s public municipal bank, The California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank). SBDC of Orange County is not affiliated with the U.S. Small Business Administration. 

The corporation, established in 2001, is a mission driven organization dedicated to assisting small business owners secure operating capital through its capital access programs including California’s State Loan Guarantee Program, Export Lines of Credit, Bond Conduit and Green Energy Initiatives to support small business access to credit.