NAWBO® Installs Dr. Janis Shinkawa to the 2024-2025 Board of Directors

Dr. Janis Shinkawa will lead the NAWBO mission and represent the 14 million women business owners nationwide as Chair of the National Board.

WASHINGTON, June 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) installed Dr. Janis Shinkawa, Medical Director and Founding Partner of Ohana Pet Hospital, as Chair of the 2024-2025 NAWBO Board of Directors. NAWBO represents 13 million women business owners across America. The membership is diverse in many ways, including the size of their business, the sectors and communities they serve, the stage of business development, their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, geographic business areas, and political leanings that determine policy views.

On the local level, the members are servant and business leaders who want to impact their local communities positively. On a national level, NAWBO informs lawmakers on the challenges for women business owners and outlines how to address these obstacles. The NAWBO National Board leads this critical mission.

"NAWBO stays strong through our commitment to our three pillars: advocacy, leadership, and education," said Dr. Janis Shinkawa, NAWBO National Board Chair. "As an organization, we know when women do well, economies do well, and it takes a community of people dedicated to ensuring a vibrant ecosystem for women business owners. As I lead this organization, we focus our advocacy efforts on the microbusiness owner. More than 90% of NAWBO's women-owned businesses are microbusinesses, and by giving these businesses the resources to grow, we will see an opportunity to increase wealth in our most underserved populations."

Dr. Janis Shinkawa (aka Dr. Jan) is the Medical Director and Founding Partner of Ohana Pet Hospital, a small animal veterinary general practice established in 2012 by four women veterinarians in Ventura, California. Dr. Jan now has collective partnerships in 3 veterinary hospital startups with 5 locations in Ventura County. She also owns a startup software company called VETLevelUP, a digital development tool for the veterinary industry.

Dr. Jan initiated the development of an Associate's Degree program in Veterinary Technology at Ventura College, a California Community College. It is one of 223 registered veterinary technician programs that is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association. She is an active advisory committee member for various veterinary and business educational institutions. Dr. Jan recently launched Lokahi Foundation, a 501c(3) organization dedicated to the training and wellness education of veterinarians and support staff.

Before attending veterinary school, Dr. Shinkawa was an auditor and CPA with Ernst & Young, LLP (EY) in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her industry focus was healthcare, retail, government, and hospitality. She left EY public accounting as a trained manager and business consultant. Dr. Jan is passionate about creating sustainable business strategies and compassionate management training that enable companies to develop healthy and happy employees.

The 2024-2025 NAWBO Board of Directors includes Dr. Janis Shinkawa — Chair; Lisa Coppola— Immediate Past Chair; Megan Patton — Chair-Elect; Thresette Briggs — Treasurer; Lesa Seibert – Secretary; Sandra Clitter, Krista Martinez, Victoria Stevenson, Amber Wallace, and Brenda Harris — Chair of the Presidents Assembly Steering Committee.

NAWBO held the board installation on June 3, 2024, before starting their NAWBO National Advocacy Days on June 4 and 5, 2024, in Washington, D.C. Next year marks the 50^th anniversary of the organization, and planning is already underway for the celebration June 5-8, 2025.

About NAWBO

Founded in 1975, NAWBO is the unified voice of America's 13 million women-owned businesses. NAWBO is the only dues-based organization representing the interests of all women entrepreneurs across all industries. NAWBO develops programs that help navigate women entrepreneurs through the various stages of their business growth. To learn more, please visit www.nawbo.org.

SOURCE National Association of Women Business Owners