Small Business Financing Conference

Lou Sandoval (Former President & CEO, Illinois Chamber of Commerce)
Lou Sandoval is a visionary business leader and the former President & CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, where he championed pro-growth policies, economic development, and the interests of over 3,000 member organizations across Illinois. A respected voice in business advocacy, Lou brought a unique combination of corporate leadership, entrepreneurial success, and governance expertise to his role.

Before leading the Chamber, Lou was Managing Partner at Halo Advisory Group, guiding growth-stage businesses through strategic transformation and President & CEO of SupplyHive™, a SaaS firm serving global enterprises. He held senior leadership positions at Brunswick Corporation and previously led cross-functional teams at Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

An accomplished entrepreneur, Lou has founded and exited five ventures and is recognized for building high-performance cultures and driving innovation. He currently serves on the board of Wintrust Bank, chairs its Risk Committee, and advises the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. As a published author, Lou is a frequent contributor on business topics in the media, giving voice to the many businesses across the state. 

Named a 2024 Crain’s Notable Latino Leader, a 2025 Daniel Burnham Fellow, and a 2025 Edgar Fellow, Lou holds a B.S. from DePaul University and completed executive programs at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. A proud Chicagoan and accomplished offshore sailor in his spare time, Lou was inducted into the Lake Michigan Sailing Hall of Fame in 2021 having navigated over 35,000 lifetime nautical miles. 

Moderator | Kelly Evans (Vice President of Entrepreneurship & Economic Development, Chicago Urban League)

Kyle L. Alexandre (Vice President, State Government Relations, Equipment Leasing and Finance Association)
Kyle L. Alexandre is a Public Policy and Government Affairs Lobbyist and native New Yorker who relocated to Central Florida in 2006. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the esteemed Tuskegee University and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration of Human Resource Management from American Intercontinental University. 

In her most recent role, Kyle served as the Deputy Political Director for the State of Florida on the Harris Walz Presidential Campaign. Kyle has served as the Vice President of Public Policy at the Orlando Regional Realtors Association, Chief Legislative Aide in both the Florida Senate and House of Representatives and Community Relations Manager and Government Relations Manager at Walt Disney Parks and Resort. During Kyle’s tenure in the Florida legislature and Disney, she tackled complex policy issues, a notoriously fast-paced budget process, as well as community outreach at the federal, state and local levels.

Kyle’s steadfast commitment to improving her community drives her professional accomplishments as well as her many civic engagements. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, The Orlando Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, Order of the Eastern Stars and serves on several non-profit boards on behalf of both the Orange County and Orlando Mayor.  

Louis-Caditz-Peck (Executive Director, Responsible Business Lending Coalition)
The Responsible Business Lending Coalition (RBLC) and its members represent over 1,000 small business groups, for-profit lenders, and nonprofits, who have come together to stop the rise of irresponsible small business lending and encourage the innovation of more and better financing options for small businesses. The RBLC’s work is grounded in the Small Business Borrowers’ Bill of Rights, the first consensus industry/ nonprofit standards for responsible financing to small businesses. One hundred small business financing providers, industry leaders, and advocacy organizations have endorsed these standards.

Jay Goltz (CEO/Founder, Goltz Group)
After graduating college in 1978, Jay Goltz went against the advice of just about everyone and opened a custom frame shop on Clybourn Avenue, located in a then abandoned factory district on the edge of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Within a few years, Jay grew Artists Frame Service into the country’s largest custom frame shop – about twenty times the average.  

Over the next four decades, Jay further expanded his enterprise to include Jayson Home, a nationally known home furnishing and accessory store, Bella Moulding, a leading supplier in the picture frame industry; and gallery 1871 and Chicago Art Source, which offer art and art consultations to individuals and businesses. Collectively known as the Goltz Group, these five companies now employ 130 people and occupies an entire city block on that same Clybourn Avenue (which is now a vibrant shopping district), as well as an 85,000-square-foot warehouse and factory – a remarkable feat given that less than one percent of businesses grow to this size, especially in one generation. 

Jay wrote the book The Street-Smart Entrepreneur: 133 Tough lessons I Learned the Hard Way. He was then featured in the book, Small Giants: Companies That Choose to be Great Instead of Big, which led to a cover story for Inc Magazine. He went on to be the lead blogger for the NYT’s Small Business blog and is frequently featured in other business media outlets. Most recently, he joined the 21 Hats podcast team, where he discusses what it really takes to run a company.  

Moderator | Elliot Richardson (Co-Founder & President, Small Business Advocacy Council)
Elliot is the Co-Founder and President of the Small Business Advocacy Council, an organization laser-focused on advocating for the small business community. The SBAC is dedicated to enacting legislation and moving policy initiatives that will help small and local businesses thrive. The SBAC also focuses on neighborhood revitalization and fostering economic development in communities throughout Illinois and Chicago. The organization also supports small businesses by providing them with opportunities to connect and collaborate, and by providing them with educational opportunities. 

Leah Greenblum (Founder & Executive Director, Jewish Free Loan Chicago)
As a passionate advocate for economic justice, Leah Greenblum is the Founder and Executive Director of Jewish Free Loan Chicago (JFLC), which she launched in 2022 to provide personal and small business zero-interest loans to low- and moderate-income individuals of all backgrounds. Previously, in 2014, she founded the Midwest Access Coalition on a shoestring budget in response to nationwide tightening of abortion restrictions. Her work has been recognized in The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and The Chicago Tribune.

Leah earned her bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from the University of Florida and a master’s degree in sociology from Brown University. She also holds a nonprofit management certificate from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and is a 2025 graduate of the Mandel Institute’s Executive Nonprofit Leadership Program.

Geri Sanchez Aglipay (Senior Fellow at Small Business Majority and former Small Business Administration Great Lakes Regional Administrator)
Geri Sanchez Aglipay is a Senior Fellow at Small Business Majority, a national small business and economic policy and educational non-profit. She was the former SBA Great Lakes Regional Administrator appointed by President Biden to lead the agency’s field office programs, communications and public affairs strategy, and grow the SBA financing program alongside a team of directors’ outreach operations in the six states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin and 36 sovereign tribal nations. She is the first Filipino American woman appointed to a regional position of a cabinet agency by any president, and she is a second-generation American who is the child of immigrants who were a union service worker, a farm worker and a decorated US Army war veteran.

She has experience in crafting and translating workforce, small business and economic policies on banking, health care, care economy workplace benefits and taxes, fraud especially for those located in underrepresented areas, as well as advising elected officials.

Brad McConnell (CEO, Allies for Community Business)
Brad McConnell is CEO of Allies for Community Business, which provides the capital, coaching, and connections entrepreneurs need to grow great businesses in their communities. Since 2020, A4CB has provided $800M in grants and loans plus free business coaching to over 50K community businesses, most of which are led by diverse and women entrepreneurs. A4CB also co-owns The Hatchery, the nation’s largest nonprofit food and beverage incubator. Prior to A4CB, he served as COO for the Department of Planning and Development in Chicago and as Economic Policy Advisor to Illinois Senator Dick Durbin in Washington. He was Vice President at LaSalle Bank in Chicago and Manager at Accenture in the US and Europe. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Georgetown University.

Horacio Mendez (President & CEO, Woodstock Institute)
Horacio Mendez, an experienced executive with expertise in policy, regulation, finance, research, and strategy, is President and CEO of Woodstock Institute. The nationally and locally renowned research and policy nonprofit welcomed its first Latino leader on August 1, 2020. Mendez brings his insider knowledge of the industry, his track record as an expert researcher, and his sharp policy analysis skills to Woodstock’s extensive research and policy advocacy that seek to address the racial income and wealth gap.

Mendez moved to Chicago from Alameda, California. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Santa Clara University and a Master of Arts in Economics from San Jose State University. Most recently Mendez was Managing Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for the Americas at MUFG Union Bank. Prior to that, he held executive positions at Rabobank and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. He also spent seven years as a Senior Fellow, Economic Opportunities Program, with the Aspen Institute.