The Small Business Development Center at Stony Brook University Appoints Martha Stansbury Director

STONY BROOK, NY—May 31, 2024—Stony Brook University’s Economic Development Office has named Martha Stansbury director of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Stony Brook. It was announced by Peter Donnelly, Associate Vice President for Technology Partnerships, Economic Development. Stansbury has worked with SBDC at Stony Brook as the center administrator since 2017 developing budgets as well as managing operations. She will report to Donnelly in her new role.

Stansbury will oversee a team of eight at SBDC at Stony Brook. The Center is located at the university’s Research and Development Park (Building 17) in Stony Brook, New York.

SBDC at Stony Brook provides free, one-on-one, confidential business advising in areas including business planning, marketing, fiscal management, access to capital and technology transfer. The Center will help  assist entrepreneurs, business and industry leaders to solve  their problems and  increase productivity and profitability.

“Martha will bring a wealth of experience, passion and vision to SBDC at Stony Brook in her new role,” said Donnelly. “Martha’s commitment to community engagement is also evident through her many external roles including as a member of the Women Economic Developers of Long Island serving in the roles as vice president and president. Martha has also been a trustee of the Three Village Chamber of Commerce and was voted in 2020 to her present role as treasurer. Last year, Martha received the Chamber’s Roy Dragoda Awardfor 15 years of community service with the Chamber and voted as the 2024 Member of the Year for her contributions to the Chamber’s financial management system.”

The New York Small Business Development Center (NY SBDC) comprises 20 campus-based centers and outreach offices (including the SBDC at Stony Brook) across New York State. NY SBDC  is overseen by the State University of New York (SUNY) System Administration. Since 1984, NY SBDC has helped 582,806 state residents. $8.7B has been used so far to start or expand businesses with 263,997 jobs created/saved. It is part of the US Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), which funds the NY SBDC.

“I am honored to have been given the opportunity to lead the Small Business Development Center at Stony Brook as the New York State-wide network embarks on its 40th year, “ said Stansbury. “Together with the Center’s experienced NYS Certified Business Advisors and support from Economic Development, I will endeavor to increase the economic impact our Center has in the small-to-medium-size enterprise arena throughout Suffolk County.”

Previous to her present position, Stansbury has also served as a management consultant where she provided facility management of Stony Brook University’s Business Incubator and Agriculture Consumer Center. She also served as a business manager for Gallery North; a management consultant,  accounting systems manager for an international LCD distributor ; assistant to the director of development at Boston College; and a Commercial Real Estate Analyst for the Bank of New England. Stansbury  earned her MBA from Fordham Gabelli School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and teaching from Boston College.

Note to editors: Martha Stansbury is a resident of East Setauket.
Photo Credit: Chelsea McKenna,  Finishing Touch Photo

About Stony Brook University

Stony Brook University — New York’s flagship university and No. 1 public university — is going far beyond the expectations of today’s public universities. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. With nearly 26,000 students, more than 2,900 faculty members, more than 220,000 alumni, a premier academic healthcare system and 18 NCAA Division I athletic programs, Stony Brook is a research-intensive distinguished center of innovation dedicated to addressing the world’s biggest challenges. The university embraces its mission to provide comprehensive undergraduate, graduate and professional education of the highest quality, and is ranked as the #58 overall university and #26 among public universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges listing. Fostering a commitment to academic research and intellectual endeavors, Stony Brook’s membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) places it among the top 71 research institutions in North America. The university’s distinguished faculty have earned esteemed awards such as the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Indianapolis Prize for animal conservation, Abel Prize and the Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics. Stony Brook has the responsibility of co-managing Brookhaven National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy — one of only eight universities with a role in running a national laboratory. In 2023, Stony Brook was named the anchor institution for The New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island in New York City. Providing economic growth for neighboring communities and the wider geographic region, the university totals an impressive $7.23 billion in increased economic output on Long Island. Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/stonybrooku/ and X@stonybrooku.