Downey Contributes on SBDC Board of Advisors
ATLANTA, GA – At the end of last month Catherine Downey, CEO of CATMEDIA, continued her service to Georgia’s small businesses when she spoke at the Georgia Economic Outlook as a member of the SBDC Advisory Board.
Downey spoke as part of an expert panel at the meeting held at the downtown Atlanta Marquis on Wednesday, December 14. Terry College of Business of The University of Georgia hosted the meeting. Downey provided insights as a successful Georgia entrepreneur and her fellow panelists included UGA personnel and other business leaders in economic development and public service. The objective of the meeting was to review the current state of Georgia’s economy and the outlook for 2017, which appears positive and better than the average outlook for all U.S. states. Approximately 700 business, government, and chamber leaders attended the luncheon meeting.
Downey led her fast-growing small business through various local, state, and federal economic storms over the past three decades, attributing the firm’s success on “resilience, strategic planning, and a staff with substantial expertise and resourcefulness.” Throughout her three decades as a business owner Downey has been the recipient of SBA services through SBDC consulting at the DeKalb office and various SBDC and SBA training programs. Downey believes in paying it forward: “My contributions on the SBDC Advisory Board is one way I can give back to the Georgia small business community and SBA.”
Downey’s contributions to the SBDC Advisory Board began earlier this year. She was recently asked to contribute on UGA’s Board of Visitors. In February of this year Downey spoke at a UGA Public Service and Outreach event as part of another expert panel. Among her many awards, Downey’s company, CATMEDIA, was named to the Inc. 500 list for the past three years, a feat accomplished by less than 5 percent of all eligible businesses. Furthermore, Downey was named the 2016 Georgia Small Business Person of the Year by the SBA.