Andrew Flamm

Director

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Andrew Flamm serves as Director of the Pace University Small Business Development Center (Pace SBDC), which provides free high-impact consulting and training to small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. Among the services, the Center offers are helping small business clients to access financing, develop business plans and financial projections, and identify procurement opportunities and strategies for increasing sales. In this role, Mr. Flamm is responsible for strategic planning and capacity-building efforts, marketing, and communications to build greater awareness of the Center's programs and develop collaborations with a wide range of financial institutions, and managing operations to help our client's leverage investment and create jobs in their communities. Mr. Flamm also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Pace University’s Lubin School of Business.

 

Prior to joining the Pace SBDC, Mr. Flamm was Senior Director at Empire State Development, where he managed a number of small business lending programs and oversaw the State’s pro bono small business mentorship program. He has also served in senior economic development roles for a number of business groups, conducted merchant organizing in low-income communities, and implemented small business financial and technical assistance training programs and helped underwrite small business loans for community-based lenders.

 

Mr. Flamm received a Master of Public Administration from NYU, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis. He also completed Coro New York Leadership Center’s Neighborhood Leadership Program and is an NYSBDC-certified Business Advisor.

Rawle Brown

Business Advisor

 

Rawle Brown is a NYS-certified Business Advisor at the Pace University (Manhattan) Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in Downtown Manhattan. Rawle has been at the SBDC for over eleven years and assists existing businesses and entrepreneurs with business plan development and obtaining financing from banks and other non-bank financial institutions. His portfolio includes restaurants, retail, and service businesses along with many other types of industries. The portfolio is also geographically diverse and includes restaurants in Key West to staffing agencies in China to solar power equipment distributors in India to communications companies in Germany. Rawle is also the designated Procurement Liaison for clients attempting to benefit from Government contracts.  

 

Rawle also represents his SBDC at forums and as a panelist at public events, while mentoring and training Pace University graduate students who work at the SBDC. Rawle was the 4th Runner-up Business Advisor of the Year in New York State in 2000 and 2nd Runner–up in 2009. He sees approximately 170 entrepreneurs annually and regularly receives superior reviews from his many clients. Rawle has generated well over $15 million in economic impact during the course of his tenure with the SBDC.

 

Prior to working with the SBDC, Rawle was a relationship officer with the Securities Banking Division of The Bank of New York. Before that, he was an auditor specializing in Brokerage Houses.

 

Rawle is a volunteer with the SAT Test Prep Scholarship (STEPS) Program, which encourages disadvantaged high-schoolers to pursue their dreams of attending college.

 

Rawle has a BBA in Accounting from Howard University and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Sandra Cely

Business Advisor

 

Sandra Cely is a NYS-certified Business Advisor at the Pace University (Manhattan) Small Business Development Center (SBDC).  In this role Sandra assists a wide range of existing small business owners as well as start-ups, providing in-depth guidance in both English and Spanish. Sandra previously served as a Business Advisor at the York College SBDC, providing targeted recovery relief to small businesses impacted by Super Storm Sandy. In addition to helping a number of her small business clients secure SBA Sandy Disaster loans, as a result of Sandra’s guidance and assistance one of her clients was able to obtain a $1.5 million grant from the City of New York and was named the 2015 SBDC Innovative Entrepreneur of the year. 

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Working with the SBDC Sandra has developed a strong relationship with the Hispanic Community in NYC, where she has hosted seminars in Spanish and local media radio programs on Univision to improve small business financial literacy and awareness of the wide range of services the SBDC’s offer. Prior work experience here in New York includes serving as Controller of Merchants Hospitality, as well as Senior Accountant at ACCION East, Inc where she discovered her passion for working with small businesses that have a positive impact on local communities.  Additionally, earlier in her career Sandra worked as accountant for the hospitality industry in her home country of Columbia.

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Sandra has a M.A. in International Business Management and a B.A. in Accounting from Universidad Santo Tomas, and an A.S. in Hospitality Management from Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje SENA, both in Colombia.  Sandra emigrated from Bogotá, Colombia fourteen years ago.​
 

Greg Callender

Business Advisor
 

Greg is a NYS-certified Business Advisor at the Pace University Small Business Development Center (SBDC). He has more than 20 years of SBDC experience, including 19 years with Pace University.  During that time, Greg has provided business advisory services to over 2,300 existing and/or aspiring small business owners, and has been directly responsible for more than $29 million of credit and/or equity investment in over 150 companies. He has represented the SBDC as a small business subject matter expert appearing on national media outlets including Bloomberg and CNN. Greg has previously been recognized as a Runner-up Business Advisor of the Year.

 

Greg works with clients to thoroughly and objectively analyze their business models, prepare detailed business plans including pro forma financial statements, recommend optimal financing structures, and identify appropriate capital sources. Having worked with companies across a wide variety of industries, he briefly stepped away from the SBDC to serve as CFO of an SBDC client who was ultimately acquired by what is now Infor. A client of Greg’s in the alternative beverage space, with whom Greg worked since the pre-revenue stage, was ultimately acquired by White Rock Beverage Company.

 

Priding himself on building long-standing relationships, Greg has worked with some clients across multiple decades. In one instance, he initially helped a client obtain a start-up loan, then a few years later special September 11th financing, and most recently COVID-19 related funding.

 

Prior to joining the SBDC, Greg was an officer in the Corporate Restructuring Division of what is now BNY Mellon, where he managed a portfolio of loans to financially distressed companies with an aggregate credit exposure of over $50 million. He analyzed, negotiated, and prepared recommendations to the bank’s senior management with respect to the restructuring or sale of troubled loans.

 

Greg received his MBA in Finance from Fordham University, achieving the highest cumulative grade point average of his 371-person graduating class. He received his BS in Communications from St. John’s University.

Anish Thakkar

Business Advisor

 

Anish Thakkar is a NYS-certified Business Advisor at the Pace University (Manhattan) Small Business Development Center (SBDC). From an early age, Anish has been immersed in his family’s businesses, which has led to his enthusiasm for spearheading progressive development of small companies. With his background in various business endeavors, Anish is able to provide clients with hands-on marketing and basic website development support in addition to business operations guidance. He is also fluent in Gujarati and Hindi.

 

Prior to working with the SBDC, Anish was the chief operating officer at Vbar&Company, a hospitality group in Downtown Manhattan. Before that, he worked as an operations manager for a privately held retail chain in the greater New Jersey and New York areas.  Additionally, he has independently consulted for a wide variety of retail and hospitality operations ranging from dollar stores and convenience outlets to hotels and restaurants.

 

Anish has a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Administration with a concentration in Operations from Boston University. He is also a Certified Wix Webmaster.

Vansh Shah

Intern

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Vansh Shah is a student intern at the Pace University Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Vansh is currently pursuing his MBA in Entrepreneurial Studies and Information Systems at Pace’s Lubin School of Business. He has previously worked at WhedCo as a Community Development Intern, helping Bronx retailers and restaurants build an online presence and prepare for eCommerce. Additionally, he started his own bakery while working for his father’s business back in his home country. He is fluent in English, Hindi, and Gujrati.

 

With his strong business background and entrepreneurial mindset, Vansh is working with the SBDC business advisor team to help clients develop business plans and financial projections and build/grow their business ventures.

Joe Peterson

Intern

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Joe Peterson is a student intern at the Pace University Small Business Development Center (SBDC). He is an undergraduate working towards a BBA in Arts Management with a minor in Digital Media Studies. Joe previously worked as an intern for the New York Public Library and was an Academic Mentor through Pace’s AHRC NYC program. 

 

With a strong grasp on communications, Joe has experience in social media management, filmmaking, and digital design. His technical skills include Adobe Premiere and Photoshop, database management systems like Salesforce and Bloomerang, and web design platforms such as WordPress and Wix. He is currently a remote volunteer doing social media and graphic design for the Sarah Michelle Peterson Foundation, a non-profit working to prevent suicide in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia.