PRESS | NSBA Announces Finalists for 2025 Advocate of the Year Award

NSBA congratulates the 2025 Advocate of the Year Award finalists and looks forward to celebrating the winner at next week's Washington Presentation.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sept. 4, 2025

Contact:

Molly Day

202-552-2904

mday@NSBAadvocate.org

SEPT. 04 | NSBA today announced the finalists for the 2025 Lewis Shattuck Small Business Advocate of the Year Award. The award winner will be announced during NSBA’s Annual Advocate of the Year Award Luncheon on Wednesday, Sept. 10, which is the kick-off event for the NSBA Washington Presentation on Sept. 10-11.

“I am proud to honor this year’s class of award winners who have taken the time aside from their business to go above and beyond to fight for America’s small businesses,” stated NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken. “Part of what makes our community of small businesses so special is the belief in and dedication to small business as part of the American dream. The 2025 award winners exemplify the grit and passion for small business and on behalf of small-business owners everywhere, I thank them for their tireless efforts.”

NSBA is honoring the following small-business owners for their excellence in advocating on small-business issues:

Dwayne Groll - Environmental Design Group, LLC in Akron, Ohio. Founded in 1984, Environmental Design Group is a civil engineering, planning, and design firm dedicated to enhancing the well-being of people and communities across Ohio. Groll is deeply committed to small-business advocacy, serving on the Board of Directors for the Greater Akron Chamber and is the inaugural Chair of the Akron-Canton Advocacy Alliance (ACAA), representing thousands of regional businesses. He has championed issues ranging from tax reform and regulatory relief to innovation funding and workforce development and is a widely respected coalition-builder.

Christine Hopkins - ASCI Federal Services, LLC in Anchorage, Alaska. Since 1999, ASCI and its sister companies have provided comprehensive supply chain and asset management services, including vendor management and contracting, materials coordination and procurement, and transportation coordination. Hopkins was recently named SBA Small Business Owner of the Year for Alaska and active with NSBA, Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and advises the Alaska Women’s Business Center. She has championed policies supporting women-owned and veteran-owned small businesses, advocated for tax reform and procurement equity on Capitol Hill, and mentored entrepreneurs nationwide.

Jingbo “Louise” Liu – Louise Nanoinnovation North American, LLC in Corpus Christi, Texas. Founded in, 2018, Nanoinnovation is a consultancy specializing in educational support services, sustainable energy, and policy with the goal of promoting "clean energy and healthy life," focused on technical services, wellness products, interactive materials, alternate energy commercialization, and green ecosystem services. Liu is a nationally recognized advocate for small businesses and STEM innovation, having organized more than two dozen Science Cafés—interactive forums on hydrogen energy, compliance roadmaps, and community-driven energy solutions—drawing hundreds of entrepreneurs, educators, and policymakers. She is passionate about mentorship to the next generation of entrepreneurs and has partnered with institutions like Texas A&M–Kingsville to integrate her policy-toolkit modules into accelerator curricula and donating 10% of her company’s revenue to student support in STEM.

Valerie Rachel - Simplicity Healthcare Management, LLC in Atlanta, Georgia. Simplicity Healthcare Management is a licensed home care agency providing in-home care, personal care, and skilled nursing services with experienced home caregivers. Rachel is a passionate advocate for small-business equity and inclusion. She has actively engaged with policymakers on issues ranging from tax fairness and access to lending, to reducing regulatory barriers that disproportionately impact minority- and women-owned enterprises. Through her leadership, she has mentored emerging business owners, hosted financial literacy workshops, and collaborated with local chambers of commerce to expand entrepreneurial opportunities in her community.

Di Tran - Louisville Beauty Academy in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville Beauty Academy is a state-licensed beauty school that empowers students through flexible, affordable training in cosmetology, nails, aesthetics, and beauty instruction. Tran is an entrepreneur, educator, and relentless advocate for small businesses and underserved communities. Tran founded the New American Business Association Inc. (NABA), where he has led successful advocacy for equitable licensing policies, multilingual licensing exams, and representation of diverse professionals on the Kentucky State Board of Cosmetology. His efforts were instrumental in shaping Kentucky Senate Bill 14, which secured the first-ever representation for Asian Americans, nail technicians, and estheticians on the board.

Among the key criteria used in determining award finalists is a commitment to small-business advocacy above and beyond policies that specifically impact their own business or industry, as well as a broad scope of volunteer efforts to advance and improve small business.

At the Advocates' Luncheon next week as part of Washington Presentation, NSBA will recognize the overall award winner, 3 finalists and the rising star – an award given to someone who is making major contributions at the beginning of his/her advocacy career.