Ms. Joann J. Hill, a native of Columbia, South Carolina is presently serving as the Chief of the Office of Business Development for the United States Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), she leads the Office of Business Development and has oversight of this division. She has served at MBDA for two decades. As federal program officer, she leads the nationwide network of 75 MBDA Business Centers, programs and initiatives including export centers, advanced manufacturing centers, federal procurement center, enterprising women of color, Equity Multiplier, Entrepreneurship for the Formerly Incarcerated, Minority Serving Colleges and Universities, and American Indian Alaska Native & Native Hawaiian programs. She is responsible for strategies, programs and initiatives that support the growth and global competitiveness of women and minority-owned businesses in the areas of contracts, financing, domestic and global supply chains. These programs resulted in $8 billion in awarded transactions for MBDA clients in FY20.

Additionally, Ms. Hill has served as Acting National Field Director for the U.S. Commercial Service (CS), International Trade Administration (ITA), U.S. Department of Commerce. In this role, she had oversight of the U.S. Field to lead 106 U.S. Export Assistance Centers (USEAC). She provided strategic direction and communication of strategy and priorities to all staff in the U.S. field.

Ms. Hill also served as Senior Policy Advisor on the ITA Federal and State Export Promotion Strategic Plan that is now institutionalized and has worked with the ITA Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee, SelectUSA, CS field and headquarters staff on various export promotion and FDI initiatives over the past two decades.

Prior to joining MBDA she worked in the areas of operations management, banking, and finance.

Ms. Hill holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Benedict College; Master of Business Administration degree from Emory University, Goizueta Business School; and is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Senior Executive Fellows Program. She is a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES).