Mr. Sweeney was appointed District Director of Connecticut on February 20, 2005. Prior to this he was the SBA Branch Manager in the Springfield, Massachusetts SBA Branch Office.
As District Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration's Connecticut District Office, Mr. Bernard Sweeney oversees the delivery of agency programs for the state of Connecticut, including financial assistance, management counseling, and business development. He is responsible for directing the activities of 13 permanent SBA employees, the administration of a business loan portfolio, oversight of the Connecticut Small Business Development Center (SBDC) network, including its 13 locations around the state, the coordination of 6 chapters of the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and 2 Women’s Business Centers (WBC) serving all of Connecticut.
He has worked in the Connecticut District Office first starting in 1987 as Acting Assistant District Director for Business Development, and then as a Team Leader for Marketing and Outreach for 7 years returning to Connecticut in 1998, before being named Branch Manager in Springfield. He worked a total of 13 years in the SBA Springfield Branch Office as a Loan Officer and Business Development Specialist.
His federal services includes; the Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); Special Assistant to the Secretary at HUD. He also served as a Staff Assistant to the President of the United States at the White House. Mr. Sweeney has over 24 years of federal service.
He was Vice President of Governmental Affairs for a Washington DC lobby firm after a brief break from federal service. Mr. Sweeney was named one of the Outstanding Young Men in America in 1981 and to Who’s Who in America; he assisted in the signing of the Martin Luther King Federal holiday.
Mr. Sweeney is a Chartered Rotarian and past president of the Longmeadow Rotary Club. He is a Paul Harris Award recipient. He is a graduate of American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts. He is also a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, Va. Mr. Sweeney resides in Massachusetts with wife Sandy, an elementary school teacher, they have one son Zack.
