Edsel brings an outstanding background to the firm. Most recently he concluded a 29 year career as a Public Servant at the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA). During his tenure at SBA he served in a number of managerial capacities including: Assistant Administrator of the Office of Innovation & Technology, where he provided oversight over the nation's largest seed Capital Programs (Small Business Innovation Research-SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer-STTR), Assistant Deputy Administrator, Office of Business Development, where he oversaw varying components of the 8(a) Program including 8(a) certification, program development, 7(j), and mentor-protege and he also served as a Financial Analyst in the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program managing a portfolio of public venture captial firms.
He has given testimony before the U. S. House of Representatives (Committee on Small Business) and particpated on both House and Senatre Congressional Roundtables.
He is an Accredited Small Business Consultant certified by the Association of Accredited Small Business Consultants (AASBC) and operates a business consulting firm (Edsel M. Brown Jr. Group, LLC).
Other experience includes serving as a Financial Services Professional owning a Liberty Tax Franchise and serving as an Investment and Insurance Consultant with several FINRA Broker Dealers.
Edsel's educational background includes: B. A. (Government/Political Science) and M. P. A. (Public Administration) degrees from Ohio University, and a J. D. from the University of Toledo College of Law (served as President of the Black Law Student Association). He has also completed a training program at the Venture Capital Institute, and has held FINRA Series 7 and 63 Securities Registrations.
He is a member of the DC and PA Bars, American and National Bar Associations, and DC Chamber of Commerce.
An active member of his community, Edsel has served as a member of the DC Chamber of Commerce, Calvert County (MD) Economic Development Commission, Calvert Concept Charitable Corporation, Chairman-Economic Development for the Maryland State NAACP, and as the current Chairman of the Board of the Southern Maryland Minority Chamber of Commerce. He is also a Life Member of the NAACP and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
He has been the recipient of a number of awards including: Small Business Person of the Year (Southern Maryland Minority Chamber of Commerce) Joe Mann's Black Wall Street Award (Bmore News) President's Award (Maryland State NAACP), Marquis Who's Who in America and Recognized as One of the Outstanding African American Men of Calvert County MD (Calvert County MD Public Library.