The Senate has unanimously confirmed the nomination of former Louisiana legislator Donald Crabbins Jr. to be the undersecretary for minority business development in the Commerce Department’s Minority Business Development Office.
The creation of the new role was mandated by the Minority Business Development Act of 2021. This expands the MBDA’s authority to promote growth and competitiveness for the country’s 9.7 million minority-owned businesses, the Department of Commerce said Friday.
Crabbins has practiced as an attorney since 1998 and was a member of the Louisiana Bar Association. From 2002 she served in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the Louisiana Legislature until 2009, where she served as a Senate Committee Staff Director and Chief Counsel. Small business and entrepreneurship.
Most recently, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the National Urban League. In this role, Crabbins oversaw the civil rights organization’s corporate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
“In his new role, he will continue to provide the type of leadership that MBDA will lead many opportunities for corporate growth, research and development and lay the foundations for enabling minority companies to compete and succeed. I fully expect you, Gina Raimond, your secretary.
In May, President Biden announced his intention to nominate Mr. Crabbins as the first-ever undersecretary of commerce for minority business development.