Meet Our Team Of Experts

Andy Pham is the Director of the Illinois Small Business Development Center at the Joseph Center®. Since joining the SBDC in 2018, Andy has been a valuable asset to the team and at the start of 2022, he was promoted to Director. With nearly ten years of leadership experience, he regularly conducts business and entrepreneurship workshops such as Start Your Business in Illinois, Developing Your Brand Using Digital Fabrication, and Hiring Your First Employee.

Mr. Pham specializes in advising both emerging and established entrepreneurs in all areas of business, from marketing and financials to the protection of intellectual property. Simultaneously, he is a volunteer advisor and evaluator at JBS. Previously, he served as the Medical Educational Program Coordinator before becoming an academic advisor at the University of Illinois, College of Medicine. Andy Pham holds a bachelor’s of science in biology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and is a 2014 graduate of the JBS nine-month entrepreneurial program. He is also a GrowthWheel Certified Advisor and Certified Business Development Advisor (CBDA).

Chris Hollingsworth is the Director of the Illinois APEX Accelerator (formerly the Procurement Technical Assistance Center) at the Joseph Center®. Chris joined the team with over six year’s experience as a PTAC Director. Previously he was responsible for overseeing NORBIC’s Procurement Technical Assistance Center. NORBIC was a regional economic development organization that promoted job growth through professional and technical services to small businesses with a particular focus on manufacturing. The organization worked to revitalize Northeast Illinois’ manufacturing base and retain and create new jobs through a partnership with the Alliance for Industry and Manufacturing.

In this role, Chris assisted Northern Illinois companies with improving their current government procurement initiatives; including, solicitation/RFP analysis, proposal creation assistance, market research, contract administration assistance, and customized computerized bid matching service. He has an extensive background in sales and marketing in the consumer product goods and foodservice equipment sectors of business, where he initiated his government sales experience and was vital to incremental revenue growth for those organizations.

He gained knowledge of developing and implementing government marketing strategies within these market segments through initiating and negotiating General Service Administration (GSA) contracts and pricing with a variety of government agencies. Additionally, Chris served as a Medical Corpsman in the US Navy and holds a BS in Business Administration from Indiana University-Bloomington.

Brittney Wallace is a business advisor at the Illinois Small Business Development Center at The Joseph Center®. As an advisor, she provides support local businesses who are in need of assistance. From human resources to organizational process and structure to implementation of business strategies to digital marketing, Brittney has a passion for helping entrepreneurs go from good to great and great to excellent. She has experience conducting market research, program development, program delivery, client management and organizational development.

Brittney previously worked as a human resources professional for Living Word Christian Center’s human resources department. Prior to becoming an advisor, she was the program coordinator for the SBDC-ITC-PTAC at the Joseph Center. In 2017, she received her Professional in Human Resources (PHR) Certification, which signifies specialized training and knowledge in the HR sector. Additionally, Brittney is a soon to be graduate of DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois where she will obtain a degree in Business Administration.

Luis Jaimes is a business advisor for the Illinois Small Business Development Center at the Joseph Center®. He is also the Dean of the Joseph Business School (JBS) Spanish language program, where he is responsible for the expansion of the JBS program into the Hispanic market. As an advisor, he provides support to help business leaders start and expand their businesses. From process automation to implementation of business strategies, his focus is assisting Hispanic entrepreneurs in the development of their ideas, growing their businesses and having an impact in the surrounding communities.

Luis holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Colorado State University, and studied Computer Science with work on Artificial Intelligence and Cryptography in the Master’s Degree program at The University of Denver. Prior to joining the Joseph Center, Luis developed a career as a business consultant within the information technology industry, evaluating and revising clients’ business models and internal processes to help drive growth. His areas of expertise include information technology, risk and disaster analysis, and business development with emphasis on sales management, marketing strategies, leadership and team development.