Alfred E. Judd

Director, Field Operations Center-West

"When the SBA asked me to join its disaster loan program more than 23 years ago, I already knew the program performed a vital function," says Alfred E. Judd, now Director of the Field Operations Center in Sacramento, California.  "But I had no idea I would participate in so many fundamental changes to the program."

Al's first SBA role was Director of the Office of Disaster Programs in Washington, DC.  He became Deputy Assistant Administrator for Disaster Assistance.  For almost two years, Al served as Acting Assistant Administrator for Disaster Assistance.  During his time in Washington, Al was directly involved with the creation of the first "local" offices and the development of disaster professionals to manage the program.  "The maturation of the professional core of disaster managers and workers was a sea of change from the old days of temporary "disaster bums" floating from disaster to disaster," Al observes.

In 1994, following the devastating Northridge Earthquake in Los Angeles, California, Al's life unexpectedly changed.  "We soon discovered that we were dealing with the largest disaster in the history of Federal disaster relief," Al recalls.  "SBA wasn't keeping up.  I was sent to Sacramento to take over the office for a temporary period - maybe 60 days.  When I arrived, we had a backlog of 33,000 loan applications to process and 34,000 loans to disburse.  Worse, we were receiving 20,000 additional applications every week.  Within a month, we had a backlog of 60,000 applications to process and 55,000 loans to disburse.  I quickly realized that I wasn't going home in 60 days," Al remembers.

A staff of SBA employees that peaked at about 3,400 and was lead by a dedicated core of experienced hands, began processing more than 2,000 applications a day.  SBA overcame the backlog and eventually approved about 125,000 disaster loans for more than $4.1 billion.

"I really enjoyed working directly where the 'rubber meets the road'," Al says, "So I decided to stay in Sacramento.  We have developed a great management team and an outstanding staff.  It's a joy to work with them and see how well they rise to meet every challenge," Al says.

Before SBA, Al worked in local and state government and for other Federal agencies.  "By comparison, this office is the best I've ever seen," Al says with pride.  Al is a graduate of Pennsylvania's Franklin and Marshall College, where he earned a B.A. in Government with Honors and Distinction.