Valley Economic Development Partners Inc. plans to expand capital access for small businesses, deepen community engagement, enhance technical assistance and continue building organizational capacity to drive greater regional impact in 2026, Teresa Miller, executive director, says.
Established in 1978 to advance the social and economic well-being of the Mahoning Valley region, Valley Partners focused on increasing capital available to small businesses, enhancing technical assistance services and hosting impactful seminars and events for entrepreneurs throughout 2025.
“As a Community Development Financial Institution, Valley Partners focuses on serving economically disadvantaged individuals and historically underserved communities,” Miller says. “Last year, 73% of its financial products were disbursed to businesses located in CDFI-designated underserved geographies.”
Valley Partners helped inject $23.1 million into the regional economy through small business projects, creating 155 jobs. About 40% of these products were disbursed to minority-led small businesses, while 56% were disbursed to women-led small businesses.
As a Tier I Minority Business Assistance Center for the Youngstown region, Valley Partners’ Business Resource Center provided 1,078 hours of counseling and supported the development of 107 business plans using CDFI funds, Matthew Longmire, business resource manager, says. Clients secured more than $3.3 million in new capital to support their small business ventures.
“Overall, the center served more than 300 entrepreneurs in 2025,” Longmire says. With support from the Raymond John Wean Foundation, Youngstown Foundation, CDFI Fund and Mahoning and Trumbull county commissioners through the Valley Vision initiative, BRC continued its business accounting and legal assistance grant program, graduating more than 45 entrepreneurs across two cohorts.
Valley Partners also deepened its community impact through a series of events that celebrated leadership, strengthened small businesses and reinvested in the region, Miller says. These included convening more than 700 attendees at the second annual Women’s LeadHERship Summit and welcoming the Valley’s first Seeds for Growth event, sponsored by Huntington Bank.
The 10th annual golf outing raised funds to support Inspiring Minds and expand access to capital for underserved entrepreneurs, while a series of community appreciation events across Trumbull and Mahoning counties highlighted the collective impact achieved through collaboration.
Pictured at top: Pictured from left are (front) TaMyah Petty, event coordinator and administrative assistant; Tanay Hill, business resource adviser; Teresa Miller, executive director; and Ayana Beulah, loan closer and marketing manager; (rear) Mario Nero, director of lending; Katie Jacobson, portfolio assistant; Maureen Stenglein, Small Business Administration lender; Madison Southern, economic development loan officer; Wendy Walters, loan servicing director; and Matthew Longmire, business resource manager.
