A woman who’s worked in the public and private sector to help small businesses has returned to the U.S. Small Business Administration as the new administrator.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Isabella Casillas Guzman’s nomination to the post.

“I am excited to return to the SBA and serve as the voice of small business in the Biden-Harris administration. I am committed to championing the agency’s mission and helping equitably build back the economy,” Guzman said.

“I also look forward to working with the dedicated team of SBA professionals to ensure that the SBA creates and sustains inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems for all of our diverse small businesses across the nation to thrive,” she said.

U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, a Democrat from Maryland who serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, hailed the confirmation. “SBA must continue to be a lifeline for small businesses in the months ahead, and I am confident that Isabel Guzman is the best person to lead the agency out of the pandemic and through the economic recovery to follow.”

Guzman will lead a workforce of more than 9,000 SBA employees and administer programs involving everything from loans to counseling to contracting. She also will oversee efforts to provide pandemic relief to small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program, Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program and Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program as well as additional support enacted in the American Rescue Plan.

Guzman served in the SBA during the Obama administration as a senior advisor and deputy chief of staff. Most recently, she served as director of California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate, a network of 4 million small businesses.

Before her public service career, Guzman was an entrepreneur and advisor to accelerate technology commercialization and help small business contractors work in the federal marketplace.

“Growing up in an entrepreneurial family, I learned firsthand the ins and outs of managing a business from my father and gained an appreciation for the challenges small business owners face every day,” she said. “Throughout my public and private sector career, I have been dedicated to helping small businesses grow and succeed. Now more than ever, our impacted small businesses need our support, and the SBA stands ready to help them reopen and thrive.”