Caitlin Cain currently serves as the Regional Advocate for the SBA Office of Advocacy, covering Region VI, which includes the states of Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. As a Regional Advocate, Ms. Cain serves as the Chief Counsel’s direct link on federal policy and regulatory concerns to small business owners, chambers, state and local government agencies, trade associations and various economic development organizations in the five state region.
Ms. Cain is both an urban planner and a certified economic development professional. Most recently, she operated her own company that specialized in strategic planning and complex project management. From 2003 to 2010 Ms. Cain served as the Director of Economic Development for the New Orleans Regional Planning Commission (RPC) where she secured multi-million dollar public and private investments for various economic development and planning projects within Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Tammany, and St. Bernard Parishes. As Director of Economic Development, Ms. Cain worked extensively on post-hurricane/disaster recovery efforts, including development of infrastructure projects, commercial revitalization initiatives and the stabilization of the Medical District, including land use assembly and program oversight of the new VA Regional Medical Center and development of the newly formed New Orleans Bio District – a 2.4 square mile area in the heart of downtown New Orleans. Under Ms. Cain’s direction the RPC received designation from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) as a Center of Regional Innovation.
Prior to her work at RPC, Ms. Cain also served as both a retail/market analyst and urban planner for a major design firm in Detroit, MI. Ms. Cain has been recognized as a two time recipient as “Women of the Year” by City Business Magazine and was honored as “Star of the Southwest” by the Economic Development Administration; she remains an active member of numerous professional associations and boards. Ms. Cain received a master of urban planning degree from the University of Michigan and her bachelor’s from the University of Toronto. Ms. Cain currently resides in New Orleans, Louisiana with her daughter and numerous pets.