Chris Garcia
Chris Garcia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Acting Director of the Minority Business Development Agency | |
| In office May 22, 2017 – February 27, 2018 | |
| President | Donald J. Trump |
| Deputy | vacant |
| Leader | Wilbur Ross |
| Preceded by | Alejandra Y. Castillo |
| Succeeded by | Edith Jett McCloud |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Christopher Andrew Garcia Los Angeles, California U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Pepperdine University (BA) |
Christopher Andrew Garcia is an American businessman and former United States government official who served as the National Deputy Director and Acting National Director of the U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency during the Trump administration from 2017 to 2018.
Early life and education[edit]
Garcia was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, where he attended Granada Hills Charter High School and Littlerock High School. He is of Mexican American descent and is the son of working-class parents.[1][2].
Garcia earned a full academic scholarship through the Gates Millennium Scholars Program, a scholarship program funded by Microsoft founder Bill Gates through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.[1] He attended Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. Garcia served as the president and captain of the Pepperdine men's rugby team, served as president of the Pepperdine chapter of College Republicans, and co-created the university's annual September 11 memorial.[3][4]
Career[edit]
Entrepreneurship[edit]
In 2014, Garcia was named by the U.S. Department of State to serve as a U.S. delegate for its Global Entrepreneurship Program in Athens, Greece.[5]
Political involvement[edit]
Garcia endorsed candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election and was named to Trump's National Diversity Coalition.[6] In June 2016, he was selected to serve as a California alternate delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention.[7]
Government service[edit]
On May 22, 2017, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross appointed Garcia as the National Deputy Director and Acting National Director of the U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA).[8]
On June 29, 2017, Garcia signed a memorandum of understanding with the Southern California-based Eco-Rapid Transit Authority to create and identify significant economic opportunities to develop a $6.5 billion high-speed light-rail transit system from the Hollywood Burbank Airport to Artesia, California.[9]
On June 30, 2017, he signed a memorandum of understanding with The Latino Coalition, a business group led by former Small Business Administration Administrator Hector Barreto, designed to "help enhance the overall business, economic and social objectives of the Hispanic community".[citation needed]
On July 19, 2017, Garcia announced the renewal of a public-private-partnership with the Kauffman Foundation and the United States Census Bureau to continue the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs, which provides a demographic snapshot of the nation's employer businesses broken down by gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status.[citation needed]
On October 24, 2017, Garcia brought winners of the Minority Enterprise Development Week Awards to be recognized by President Trump in the Oval Office.[10][11][12][13]
On February 23, 2018, Garcia hosted the Minority Business Development Agency's inaugural African-American History Month ceremony, entitled African Americans in the White House: Education, Business, and Policy. The ceremony included remarks from Commerce Secretary Ross and a panel discussion with Ja'Ron K. Smith, Special Assistant to the President, White House Domestic Policy Council, and Johnathan Holifield, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.[14]
On February 27, 2018, Garcia resigned his post at the MBDA. A Washington Post article reported that anonymous officials claimed four Commerce Department appointees left their positions due to the discontinuation of their security clearances. The Post article goes on to state that the Department of Commerce declined any official comment pertaining to the resignations, or the claim that the resignations were a result of security clearance problems. Garcia stated in a brief interview that he had been planning to leave the agency for several weeks.[15][16] He was succeeded by Edith Jett McCloud.[17]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Homaira Shifa / Special to The Malibu Times. "Malibu Resident Selected as U.S. Delegate to Greece". Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ↑ Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). "Shaping the Bright Future of America: MBDA Celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ↑ "Chris Garcia ('11) speaks at 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit - Pepperdine University - Seaver College". seaver.pepperdine.edu. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ↑ "Creators of Pepperdine's Wave of Flags Still Moved by 9/11 Memorial". September 11, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ↑ Shifa, Homaira. "Malibu Resident Selected as U.S. Delegate to Greece". Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ↑ "Whiskey Politics - Chris Garcia - Trump Advisor & State Dept". ShoutEngine. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ↑ Michaelson, Elex (July 18, 2016). "SoCal Mexican-American delegate supports Trump at RNC". Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ↑ "Investment banker Garcia to lead MBDA". June 26, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- ↑ "Rebuilding America's Infrastructure: MBDA Signs MOU Agreement with Eco-Rapid Transit to Support Development of New Light Rail Transit System". MBDA. July 6, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ↑ "President Donald J. Trump Recognizes Minority-Owned Businesses". Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ↑ "MBDA Honors 2017 National MED Week Award Winners". October 27, 2017. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
- ↑ "MBDA Announces 2017 National MED WEEK Award Winners - Markets Insider". Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ↑ Lalit K. JHA, Press Trust of India. "Trump Honors Two Indian American Businessmen with Minority Business Awards". Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ↑ "Department of Commerce Celebrates African American History Month With White House Panel" (press release). MBDA. February 23, 2018. Archived from the original on April 16, 2018 – via WBBH-TV.
- ↑ Leonnig, Carol D.; Paletta, Damian; Dawsey, Josh (February 27, 2018). "Four Commerce Department appointees lose their posts after problems in background checks". The Washington Post.
- ↑ Correll, Diana Stancy (February 28, 2018). "Background check trouble leaves four Commerce Department appointees without a job: Report". Washington Examiner.
- ↑ Scott, Charlotte (March 30, 2018). "White House budget and MBDA restructuring" (blog). International Economic Development Council.
External links[edit]
Media related to [[commons:Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 466: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).|Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 466: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).]] at Wikimedia Commons
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