About
Doris Blanchard joined the Economic Progress Institute Board in October 2023.
Accomplished economic small business developer, advisor, strategic thinker, and financial trainer with documented expertise in financial training, risk management, nonprofit management, and public policy. Public affairs and community relations professional with experience in multicultural social marketing, coalition building, business planning, procurement, sales, and growth development. Recipient of the Small Business Administration’s 2011 Rhode Island Financial Services Champion of the Year award, Rhode Island College Alumni Award, Honor Roll 2013, Cesar Chavez Award 2013 for Community Leadership, and the Extraordinary Women’s Award 2010 in Business Development, PBN 2021 Businesswomen Award, Industry Leader Government/Quasi-Government.
Doris Blanchard is the Director of Small Business Programs at the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, where has an oversight of all aspects of the most pivotal program at RI Commerce, Supply RI. A collaborative of Rhode Island-based institutions and corporations committed to share infrastructure and coordinate efforts to increase local procurement including MBEs, WBEs, DBEs, and VBEs. She oversees the Small Business Assistance Program (SBAP), a key access to capital program in the state that provides an opportunity to businesses that are starting up or are having difficulty obtaining financing from traditional lending organizations. The program focuses on women- and minority-owned enterprises, as well as those in Rhode Island’s underserved communities.
Doris provides support to Executive Officers on several key economic development projects, and innovation ecosystem initiatives. She has been part of a team responsible for the development and execution of ongoing new initiatives-the Minority Business Accelerator, the Technical Assistance Program, and most recently the Statewide Outreach Initiative.
She is the state Liaison with Department of Transportation (DOT), RI Department of Emergency Management (RIEMA), RI Alliance for Business Resilience (RIABR), and the Small Business Advocacy Council (SBAC). Doris participated in the RI Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) state application with the U.S Treasury, and other current initiatives including a CDFI to serve BIPOC communities.
Doris also worked as a Business Development Consultant at the Center for Women & Enterprise, as a Small Business Director at Progreso Latino, and over 20 years in Corporate Banking in the areas of Audit, Risk Management and Analytics, and Consumer Banking.
She belongs and has belonged to several Boards of Directors and Organizations, including the City of Cranston Board of Contract and Purchase, Providence Business Loan Fund, United Way of Rhode Island, Latina Leadership Institute, RI Latino Civic Fund, RI Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting, and the Greater Providence Board of Realtors.
Doris is an alumni of the RIF Equity Leadership Initiative (ELI) 2022 and a scholar of Leadership Rhode Island (LRI) Sigma II Class 2022.
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