Liz Gray

Liz Gray joined the NH Small Business Development Center as State Director in 2018. She leads a team of 21 dedicated professionals that serves the Granite State’s small businesses through one on one, confidential business advising and education programs. Under Liz’s guidance, NH SBDC doubled the number of clients served through business advising, from 862 in 2019 to 1,721 in 2023. NH SBDC’s total annual economic impact on the state of New Hampshire in 2023 was $242M.

Prior to joining the NH SBDC, Liz served as director of entrepreneurship at the N.H. Business Finance Authority. She established Live Free and Start, an initiative to make New Hampshire an even better place for innovative companies to be able to start, grow and succeed. She held the position of economic development business services manager at the NH Department of Resources and Economic Development and has extensive experience within the political community of New Hampshire. Additionally, she worked for more than 10 years in various capacities in the offices of governors Shaheen, Lynch and Hassan, and as a legislative aide in the NH State Senate. 

Liz was awarded an AmplifiHer Award from the NH Women’s Foundation in 2021. She co-founded the Northern NE Women's Investor Network (VT ME NH) and served as the NH lead. She was recently elected to the America’s SBDC (ASBDC) Board of Directors, and also serves as chair of ASBDC’s Small but Mighty Committee and is a member of ASBDC’s Legislative and Leadership Committees.  

Liz is a member of the UNH Manchester Advisory Board, and the boards of the UNH Alumni Association and the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). She also co-chaired the UNH Peter T. Paul College’s Business in Practice Advisory Board.

Liz has a Master’s in Public Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Conservation and International Affairs from the University of New Hampshire.