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Feature Speaker

Lauren Linakis
Assistant Director at Small Business Development Center at SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale SBDC

Lauren Linakis joined the Farmingdale SBDC in 2019. Before arriving at the SBDC, Lauren was the Associate Director of the LaGuardia Community College Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), where she helped small businesses understand government contracting and how to market their goods and services to the government. In recognition of her expertise in government procurement assistance, Lauren earned her Certified Procurement Professional Certificate from the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers in 2016. 

Throughout her career, Lauren has focused on helping small businesses get registered to work with the government, get certified as an MWBE or disadvantaged business, and apply for contracts with the government.  In 2020, Lauren was awarded the New York SBDC’s Lead by Example award in recognition of her collaboration with New York SBDC advisors in helping their clients understand the government procurement space. In 2022, she was awarded America’s SBDC Top 40 Under 40 Young Professionals Award, a recognition of SBDC staff from across the national network who demonstrate innovation, leadership, and commitment to the SBDC mission.  

Lauren holds her Bachelor’s degree in political science from Barnard College and her Master’s in economic development from Columbia University.