CASCADE Program Director
California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR)

Ms. Eileen Sánchez serves the California Governor in the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) military affairs team where she leads Defense Industry Cybersecurity Resilience. Prior to OPR, Ms. Sánchez served as director of economic development for Los Angeles Mayor, overseeing the small and minority business team, contracting relations and a broad range of entrepreneurship initiatives. Ms. Sánchez previously served as a U.S. Small Business Administration associate administrator in Washington, D.C., reporting to the Administrator and serving on the SBA Management Board. In her role, Ms. Sánchez spearheaded SBA’s small business global and international trade initiatives and programs, including the $1.45 billion SBA guaranteed export lending portfolio and field staff located at U.S. Export Assistance Centers. She led several government initiatives to improve the economic environment for American small businesses and entrepreneurs in the United States and abroad, and she was responsible for ensuring small business interests were represented in trade negotiations and commercial dialogues. Ms. Sánchez also oversaw the launch and implementation of the State Trade Expansion Program.