SCORE Elects First Female Board Chair, Dedra Johanneson

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- SCORE, – www.score.org- mentors to America's small businesses, is proud to announce the appointment of the organization's first female Board Chair since its founding in 1964, Dedra M. Johanneson, entrepreneur and former owner and CEO of Johanneson's of WI, Inc.  Johanneson brings a strong passion for and knowledge of the business environment to this role and will serve as a leader and proponent for the 7.8 million women business owners, 88% of whom represent small businesses, in this country, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).  With woman-owned firms growing twice as fast as male-owned firms (based on statistics by the National Women's Council) Johanneson's appointment as SCORE's Board Chair comes at a time when small business growth depends on the involvement and advocacy of qualified women business owners and entrepreneurs.

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As a Hispanic woman, Johanneson also represents the 19% of women business owners in our country who are minorities and serves as a role model for these female small business owners as a successful entrepreneur herself.  Johanneson currently owns 19 Mystic Mountain, Inc. a Real Estate Investment company, and is a speaker and business consultant with Open Mind Consulting dba I Deserve It Now.  Previously, she was owner and CEO of Johanneson's of WI, Inc., a chain of supermarkets in Colorado, Minnesota and Wisconsin.   She became known for providing strong conceptual and consumer insights and driving excellence through a performance-oriented style of leadership.

"I am so proud to be the first woman to chair the SCORE Board at a time when change and diversity are the face of our nation," says Johanneson. "I also take great pride in representing an organization with 12,000+ mentors who unselfishly volunteer their precious time because they care about nurturing small businesses and therefore, our country."

Johanneson is a strong advocate of small businesses and entrepreneurship.  In 2007, she was honored with the National Champion of Women Business award from the SBA and in 2011, she was featured in Women of Wealth magazine's "Nation's Top 90 Women Mentoring Leaders." Johanneson has been an active volunteer mentor with the SCORE Phoenix chapter for the past 7 years and has served on the SCORE Association Board for 5 of those years.

"We are proud and excited to have Dedra as our new Board Chair," said SCORE CEO Ken Yancey.  "Her 5 years of service on our board and 7 years of service as a SCORE mentor have been invaluable to our Development Committee and Nominating Committee and we know her leadership will prove effective and inspiring."

For more information on the SCORE Board, visit www.score.org/board-of-directors

About SCORE
Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 9 million aspiring entrepreneurs. Each year, SCORE provides small business mentoring and workshops to more than 375,000 new and growing small businesses. More than 12,000 business experts volunteer as mentors in over 340 chapters serving local communities with entrepreneur education to help grow 1 million small businesses.

For more information about starting or operating a small business, call 1-800/634-0245 for the SCORE chapter nearest you. Visit SCORE at www.score.org. Connect with SCORE at www.facebook.com/SCOREFans and www.twitter.com/SCOREMentors.

Contact Information
Shalini Karnani Bonjour
800/634-0245
[email protected]

SOURCE SCORE