
Marsha Bailey is the President, CEO and Founder of Women’s Economic Ventures. She has 30 years of experience in women’s business development and micro-lending. Under her leadership, WEV has become nationally recognized for its high-impact, innovative programs which have helped start or expand more than 4,500 businesses on California’s Central Coast.
Bailey has provided entrepreneurial training for women in Hungary, lectured at the Sorbonne in Paris and provided organizational development assistance to organizations in the U.S. and Amman, Jordan. She is a former member of the National Women’s Business Council, which provides policy guidance to the White House, Congress and the Small Business Administration on issues related to women’s business ownership and is the past chair of the national Association of Women’s Business Centers. In 2017, Bailey was inducted into the South Coast Business Times’ Business Hall of Fame.
Bailey earned her M.A.in Communication from UCSB, and a B.A. from Michigan State University in Fine Art and Sociology. She is a certified Economic Development Finance Professional.