During Jayne Armstrong ’s tenure as the district director of the SBA’s Delaware District Office, the SBA team has dramatically increased its visibility statewide through extensive marketing and outreach; expanded participation in its government contracting programs; increased counseling and training offered by the Small Business Technology Development Center and SCORE programs; and established the Delaware Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship in partnership with the YWCA of Delaware.
She previously served as the district director of SBA’s West Virginia District Office, and as regional advocate of the SBA’s Office of Advocacy, where she coordinated public policy at the federal and state levels and organized the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business. In 1996, she represented the SBA in Russia during the first formal exchange between U.S. and Russian entrepreneurs.
Prior to her SBA career, Armstrong worked in the advertising, high-tech economic development and higher education development fields in North Carolina, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia. A native of Pittsburgh, she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees West Virginia University (WVU), where she served as student body president.
She was recognized by former U.S. Senator Ted Kaufman (DE) on the Senate floor as a “Great Federal Employee” for her commitment to small business. She is the recipient of the Delaware Today’s Women in Business Award, the New Castle County Chamber’s Entrepreneurial Advocate of the Year Award and the YWCA’s Woman of Power, Style and Brilliance Award, recognizing her commitment to the YWCA’s mission to eliminate racism and empower women. She also was recognized by the Delaware Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) with its Bridge Builder Award (twice), the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) with its Excellence in Communications Award, Girls Inc. of Delaware as its Volunteer of the Year and The State Journal as one of “The 55 Best Things About West Virginia.”
Armstrong has been active in a wide variety of non-profits and business organizations throughout her career. She has served on the boards of the Caesar Rodney Rotary Club and WVU’s Delaware Alumni Chapter, as WVU’s chief recruiter in Delaware and as a mentor with Delaware Futures, a college bound program for at risk high school students.