Joan Gillman's duties span Executive Education from small business and entrepreneurship, the Family Business Center to teaching managers and designing executive programs. The Family Business Center is a regional membership program addresses the special needs of the family business dealing with succession, communication, and strategic planning issues.

A native of Pittsburgh, Joan Gillman received her B.S. from Indiana University in art education and radio and TV.

Since coming to Madison in 1968, Joan Gillman has worked for the departments of Preventive Medicine, Psychology and Waisman Center. In 1984 Gillman took her GRE's with a pencil that said "Life begins at 40" and completed her Master's in business in December 1986. Joan Gillman has been Program Coordinator, then Director of Madison's Small Business Development Center until 1996 when she started her two new programs. The Madison-SBDC serves 15,000 businesses plus all those thinking about going into business by offering one-on-one counseling and courses in the areas of marketing, management, finance, and business feasibility/strategic planning.

Joan Gillman has two children and enjoys traveling whenever possible. Her most recent travels have been in Croatia and Bulgaria for the Open Society Institute, the nonprofit foundation of George Soros, where she is starting centers for Entrepreneurship. She is also the second woman ever to publicly address men in Saudi Arabia. She is active in many local organizations and is Executive Director for USASBE-United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, the national division of the International Council for Small Business.

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