[4] She is the president of the investment firm MMP Group, Inc.,[5] the vice chairman of the board of directors of the immigration services company Envoy Global,[5] and a regular contributor to Fortune and other publications.

[12] During the 1980s and 1990s, Mills invested in and managed several small manufacturing firms throughout the country, including producers of hardwood flooring, refrigerator motors, and plastic injection molding.

[2] In 2007, former Maine Governor John Baldacci appointed her to chair the state's Council on Competitiveness and the Economy, which was focused on rural and regional development.

[13] Mills is an advocate for regional innovation clusters—geographic groupings of related industries (such as tech companies in Silicon Valley) that can share resources, ideas, and human capital.

[17] Created in 1953, the Small Business Administration operates in four key areas: expanding access to capital, increasing government contracting opportunities, entrepreneurial development, and disaster relief.

The agency gained a higher profile under President Obama, who made small businesses a cornerstone of his effort to revive the economy in the wake of the Great Recession.

[3] Among other things, the Act extended the successful Recovery Act loan provisions, raised the maximum size of SBA-guaranteed loans, expanded opportunities for small businesses competing for federal contracts, created the State Trade and Export grant program, provided $50 million in additional funding for Small Business Development Centers, and strengthened the agency's oversight and enforcement tools.

[20] In January 2012, the position of Administrator of the SBA was elevated to the rank of Cabinet-level officer, expanding Mills' power on policy decisions and granting her access to cabinet meetings.

[2] On February 11, 2013, she announced that she would resign as Administrator of the SBA, with President Obama saying that; "because of Karen's hard work and dedication, our small businesses are better positioned to create jobs and our entire economy is stronger.

which proposed a series of "practical, meaningful measures that can generate consensus and advance America's startup community in service of the middle class.