-->

SBA announces new director for Kansas City district office

By Madison Parry

Kansas City native Michael Barrera has been selected as the new U.S. Small Business Administration district director for Kansas City. Most recently the district director of the North Florida SBA office, Barrera will be switching spots with KC’s current director, Jon Richards.

Raised in Kansas City, Michael Barrera has been selected by the U.S. Small Business Administration to return to his hometown to serve as district director for the Kansas City District SBA office, effective Feb. 18, 2021.

Photo courtesy U.S. Small Business Administration

The Kansas City district covers 89 counties in western Missouri and eastern Kansas. This includes a branch in Springfield, Mo.

Kansas City also manages 44 firms for the SBA and oversees nine Small Business Development Centers, four SCORE chapters, and one SBA-funded Women’s Business Center in Kansas City, according to a news release from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Barrerra has strong ties to the Kansas City area, his family having owned and operated a local restaurant for 55 years and his father a founder of the Greater Kansas City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GKCHCC) and U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC).

Barrera himself previously served as president of the USHCC and GKCHCC and was a founder of the Hispanic Bar Association of Greater Kansas City.