For Erika Tapp Duran, supporting the development of small businesses isn’t just her professional passion.

It’s in her blood.

Holding a long-standing motivation to help entrepreneurs through her own family's endeavors, she centers her leadership on a new demographic: small business owners in and around the communities surrounding Temple University.

This past January, Tapp Duran was named the new director of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Temple University.

“I grew up in a small business,” said Tapp Duran, who was raised in Pasadena, California.

“For 42 years my parents ran an accountancy corporation, meaning I’ve seen firsthand the good, the bad and the ugly of what it means to be an entrepreneur and run your own business. My upbringing truly ignited my passion for working in small business development and gave me an understanding for the powerful impact business ownership can have for individuals and for communities.”

The SBDC, which provides no-cost consulting and business education to any small business owner or aspiring business owner within Philadelphia and Montgomery counties, is one of 15 within the state of Pennsylvania and is a technical assistance arm of the Small Business Administration (SBA). The center has been a pillar of community involvement at Temple for over four decades.

Under Tapp Duran’s direction, the center plans to expand its engagement and impact. Holding a bachelor of science in architecture from Cornell University, a master of arts from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Villanova University, she brings over 10 years of experience specializing in community and economic development in the neighborhoods of Philadelphia to her role.

Her professional history with the center extends beyond her latest appointment to director. She previously served as a business consultant and was named interim director of the center in May 2024. This experience has positioned her well for her promotion.

“Last year was a transitional one for the center, but being able to lead it, even on an interim basis, offers me and our team an even greater head start for our exciting plans that lie ahead,” Tapp Duran said.

Her work with the center prior to being named director has also been recognized: she was honored by the Small Business Development Center’s statewide chapter for having the “most business starts” in both the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years. She was also bestowed the “team spirit” award by the organization in 2022.

As the center eyes a plan for revitalized growth, Tapp Duran outlines its path to achieving this through team collaboration as well as strengthening connections with the communities it serves and diversifying its funding sources. A constant throughline is also an expansion of the educational opportunities the center offers.

“To me, small businesses are the real driver of our economy,” she explained. “When you consider where economic growth is coming from, where jobs are coming from—they’re coming out of small businesses.”

This belief, coupled with the importance of community enrichment expressed by the university’s new administration, has the team feeling confident about the expanded impact it will achieve.

“Particularly through President John Fry’s leadership, there’s a real initiative to care about and build stronger relationships with the communities around us,” she said. “Temple is a great institution and one that deeply cares about its surrounding communities and those within them—I think the efforts of our center align with that vision and is a way for the university to expand those positive actions.

“I also believe our work is critically important because of the bridge we can offer between Temple’s efforts of academia and the efforts to lift up the surrounding communities.”

As she continues to build a successful first year as director of the center, Tapp Duran and her team express enthusiasm for the path ahead.

“If I consider our goals for where we will be by 2030, our hope is to be one of the most well-known centers to support small businesses and continue to grow into a pillar of the community offerings of the entire university.

“I tell our clients all the time that ‘the sky is limit’ because it is— and I believe in the same for our center too.”

—Ethan Duer