Supporting Small Businesses at Center of VP Kamala Harris’ Visit to RI
By WPRI
After spending a few hours touring Rhode Island and chatting with small business owners, Vice President Kamala Harris departed from T.F. Green Airport Wednesday evening.
Vice President Harris (3rd from left) and Secretary Raimondo (2nd from right) met with a group of business women including Cheryl M. Zimmerman, CEO of FarSounder, (center)
In her first official trip to the Ocean State as Vice President, Harris met with business owners as she touted how the Biden administration’s multitrillion-dollar American Jobs Plan will help Rhode Islanders.
She and U.S. Commerce Secretary and former Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo took part in a women-led small business roundtable discussion Wednesday afternoon.
“You each are running very successful, innovative businesses, with a variety of talent, skill sets and backgrounds in terms of the work and the perspectives that you have brought to your businesses,” Harris told participants.
Watch the Full Round Table Session
Quote from Cheryl Zimmerman, CEO of FarSounder on participating in the roundtable:
“Having been invited to meet with the Vice President is an extraordinary honor. As a woman entrepreneur who has been working in a technical field for many years, it couldn’t be more exciting to meet with our first woman Vice President
I began my career as an engineer in a time where there were few women in STEM fields and in politics. As you can imagine, it is a thrill to have the opportunity to share some of our company’s challenges and achievements over the last year with Madam Vice President.
Joining the roundtable with Madam Vice President exceeded my expectations. The conversation covered many areas, from the challenges of leading a company through the last 15 months of the COVID pandemic to how to get our economy on track. It was encouraging to hear first hand of the new compassionate and comprehensive ways this administration plans to fuel our economy."
Watch clips below where Cheryl responds to questions about getting through the pandemic and challenges with child and elderly daycare: