Meet Our Team of Experienced Professionals

The skilled staff of the San Diego & Imperial Women’s Business Center are dedicated to empowering woman-owned small businesses. Our team of experienced professionals covers a wide breadth of entrepreneurship and industry expertise. Each member also brings unique qualities to best connect with women entrepreneurs and support these small business owners.

Admin

Katty Ibarra – Regional Director

Katty Ibarra - Director

Katty Ibarra is the Director of the San Diego & Imperial Women’s Business Center, hosted by Southwestern College. Katty is a bilingual small business owner excited to empower female entrepreneurs by leading the WBC, creating programs, providing business advising, and training to secure women’s economic justice and entrepreneurial opportunities. Katty holds a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design from the Universidad del Valle de Mexico and a Master’s of Science in Marketing from National University, with extensive branding, marketing, and social media experience. Katty owns a binational marketing firm and has more than 15 years of experience in small business and marketing strategies.

Spanish and English

Marketing, Email Marketing

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Rafael Rodriguez – Marketing and Communications Associate

Karen Cerrato - receptionist at the San Diego and Imperial Women's Business Center

Rafael Rodriguez has a BA in English, with an emphasis in creative writing. Rafael has over 15 years of marketing experience and has worked with clients all over the world.  As the marketing communications associate in the Center for Business Advancement at Southwestern College, he coordinates and manages marketing efforts for the San Diego, Orange, and Imperial PTAC, San Diego & Imperial Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, South San Diego SBDC, and the Women’s Business Center.  Rafael’s responsibilities include website management, social media planning, newsletters, graphic design, and media writing.

English and Spanish

Marketing and Communications

Advisors

Esther Carrillo – Advisor

Esther Carrillo - Advisor

Esther Carrillo is a Small Business Advisor for the San Diego & Imperial Women’s Business Center. She has over 25 years of experience assisting small business clients in the San Diego market.

English and Spanish

New Business Start-up, Strategy, Access to Capital, Credit, Business Planning and Projections

Sandra Fernandez Lara Naylor – Advisor

Sandra Fernandez Lara Naylor - Advisor

Sandra is one of the first business advisors of the Women’s Business Center in San Diego. She has been helping small business owners start and grow their businesses for over 10 years, a passion she developed in her native country of Mexico.

Being an immigrant herself, has helped Sandra be more understanding and empathetic towards her clients who have come to this country seeking to achieve their dreams. Sandra works with her clients and their businesses in a holistic way, so they can integrate their values into their businesses and stay committed for the long haul.

As a business advisor, Sandra helps clients in various areas of entrepreneurship including required permits and licenses, business plans, access to capital, and how to resolve internal conflicts. Additionally Sandra has designed and launched an innovative childcare business accelerator program in collaboration with the Women’s Business Center and Southwestern College.

Spanish and English

Small Business Start-up, Childcare

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Helping You Start or Grow Your Business

Our mission is to help women entrepreneurs start or grow their business. We offer one-on-one business counseling, as wells as online training in both English and Spanish. Our team of business advisors are looking forward to working with you.

One on one business counseling at th
US Small Business Administration

Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration

Association of Women's Business Centers
Southwestern College
California's Women's Business Centers
California Office of the Small Business Advocate

Funded in part through a Grant with the California Office of the Small Business Advocate

Wells Fargo
US Bank
California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls
SBA Award Badge

Let’s Get Started

Are you looking to start or grow your women-owned small business?