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Manufacturing Innovation Blog

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Chancy Lyford

Chancy Lyford

J. Chancy Lyford is the Division Chief for External Affairs, Performance and Support at the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP).  He was previously the Executive Officer of program. Prior to his joining MEP in 2015, he served for four years as the Deputy Associate Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) program. Chancy worked for twelve years as a SBDC Program Manager where he held a portfolio with oversight responsibility of more than $30 million in federal funds. During his tenure as a Program Manager, he spent two years overhauling the SBA's Office of Women's Business Ownership after being called upon to be the program’s (Acting) Deputy Assistant Administrator. Chancy served in various roles at SBA, including Chief of Staff to the Deputy Administrator, Senior Advisor in the Office of Policy, and as a Public Affairs Officer.

Words Should Matter to Leaders

Words Should Matter to Leaders

In an exchange with a colleague the other day, I shared a phrase my grandmother often used to say, “nothing’s so bad it can’t get worse.” Throughout my life, I