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SBDC Entrepreneurs

Participants come into our Small Business Development Center with a wide array of goals. You can read more about these inspiring entrepreneurs, their businesses, and how you can support them below.
Profile image of Monique Harris, a smiling Black woman wearing a purple jacket and knit beanie over a dark turtlenecck. She has several peircings on her eyebrows, nose and ears.

Monique Harris

Monique Harris (she/her) has attended Ability Now Bay Area since April Fool’s Day in 1998. Shortly after, with an Associate of Arts in Business Administration degree from Merritt College, she became the first participant to join the new Small Business Development Center at Ability Now. Harris launched a successful graphic design business, Communication at Ease (also known as Monique’s Creations)selling fashion through https://www.legaleriste.com/monique.harris. She is also an advocate and a donor for marginalized people such as the autistic community, the unhoused, children with disabilities, and caregivers.

Profile image of John, a tan-skinned White man with cropped gray hair wearing a blue polo shirt and purple hoodie. John is smiling and seated in a power chair in front of a white backdrop.

John Masterson

John Masterson (he/him) has attended Ability Now Bay Area since 2012. Born with cerebral palsy in New Castle, Pennsylvania, he began writing at eight. He graduated from Wayne State University in Detroit with a BA in English in 1974. He self-published horror and sci-fi books on Amazon with titles such as The Scarlet Peccadillo and The Alien Who Loved Me. After joining the Ability Write Now writers’ workshop in 2021, he published poetry in Magnets and Ladders and folk ku journal. Spoonie Journal nominated him for a 2022 Best of the Net Award for his prose poem “Little Wheels.”

Profile image of Kevin, a light-skinned multi-ethnic individual with brown hair. They are seated in a power chair and wearing a blue sweatshirt.

Kevin Siemens

Kevin Siemens (they/them) has attended Ability Now Bay Area since 1999. They were born with cerebral palsy in Oakland, California, and grew up in the cities of Richmond and San Pablo. In 2008, they began making communication boards for Monique Harris’s business, Communication at Ease. In 2011, they the joined Cornerstone Program’s Small Business Development Center, starting their own business On the Roll. They resold used books on Amazon before gravitating to selling new DVDs and Blu-rays on eBay. They welcome donations of books, DVDs, and CDs to support this venture.

Feature image of Day

Day Morrow

Day Morrow (he/him, deceased) attended Ability Now Bay Area for 5 years, with most of his time spent in the Small Business Development Center creating and selling his unique works of art. Working in textiles, garments, yarn, and other soft forms, Day made musically-inspired fashion and mixed-media sculptures. His work has been featured around the bay and some of his work can be purchased on Maker’s Paradise, a gallery and online store featuring local artists, or by contacting Andre at Ability Now, where Day’s remaining works are currently featured and available to buy with proceeds benefitting his fellow participants in the Small Business Development Program.

Ability Now Bay Area is now accepting new participants to join our learning community!
Contact us today for more information on how to join our in-person, hybrid, or remote programs!