In recognition of national Small Business Week, Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12) toured UNC Charlotte’s Partnership, Outreach and Research to Accelerate Learning (PORTAL) facility on Wednesday, May 4. During her visit, she met with Robert Wilhelm, vice chancellor for research and economic development; Paul Wetenhall, president of Ventureprise; and Henry Rock, executive director of City Startup Labs.
Adams’s tour also included visits to the PORTAL offices of Atom Power, Ecomdash, Yuno.co, Informative Technologies, City Startup Labs and the Student Business Incubator. In addition, Adams, a member of the U.S. House Small Business Committee and ranking member for the Small Business Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, toured a number of off-campus small businesses.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are more than 800,000 small businesses in North Carolina that employ more than 1.5 million North Carolinians.
Visiting with Adams was her aide Julia Lopez, a 2014 UNC Charlotte graduate who completed a bachelor’s degree with majors in economics, political science and English.
Photo: Congresswoman Adams (center) with aide Julia Lopez, Paul Wetenhall, Robert Wilhelm and Henry Rock.