Today, Mayor John Cooper named LaTanya Channel as his Director of Economic Growth and Small Business Development, effective October 3. Channel brings nearly 30 years of federal and state public service to her new role, and will implement the mayor’s vision for Nashville and Davidson County’s future economic development.
“We are thrilled to welcome LaTanya, who will be central to advancing a vision for economic development that works for every neighborhood,” said Mayor Cooper. “Too many residents are being left behind by the tremendous growth we see in our city, and it’s our job to fix that by focusing on inclusion, small businesses, ensuring opportunity reaches our hard-to-employ population and young people, and that we’re increasing the wages of residents who are already here working. We’re fortunate to have someone with LaTanya’s experience and accomplished track record to help us do just that.”
Channel joins Mayor Cooper’s office after serving the federal government in the Small Business Administration – serving as the SBA Tennessee Director for 8 years in the Nashville office, which covers the entire state.
“My passion is finding creative ways to ensure everyone benefits from economic development, especially small businesses, by advancing policy goals entered around inclusion and equity,” said Channel. “I am excited to work with Mayor Cooper and across Metro to make a meaningful difference across Nashville.
About LaTanya Channel
Prior to joining the Cooper team, Channel served as the SBA Tennessee Director for 8 years at the SBA District Office in Nashville - working within the small business ecosystem to make an impact for not only small businesses, their owners, employees, and families but for the community as a whole. LaTanya joined SBA in 2005, after having served at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington D.C. in management advisory roles on human resources, large scale agency reorganizations, and department-wide civil rights and EEO matters.
LaTanya is a “Native Washingtonian” – she was born and raised in Washington, DC and has family roots in the South – Southern Maryland – where her family served as farmers for over 6 generations and many still live on the family farm today. After graduating from Rutgers-Newark School of Law, LaTanya passed both the Maryland and New Jersey bar exams and then began providing legal representation and counsel to small business owners.
LaTanya earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Claremont McKenna College, in Claremont California and her law degree from Rutgers University School of Law-Newark.
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LaTanya Channel