Stewart is a Vicksburg native and a graduate of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) District Director Candidate Development Program. wherein she took on rotational assignments in directing the SBA offices in Charlotte, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia. She received her B.S. Degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.
In addition to the SBA, she also has served at the U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers in the Vicksburg and New Orleans Districts in the capacities of Contract Specialist, Procurement Analyst, Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Specialist (SADBU), and Special Assistant and Advisor to the Commander and District Engineer for the Corps’ multimillion dollar Small Business Programs.
Stewart was asked by SBA Headquarters to fill the role as Acting Regional Administrator for the Southeast and did so from January through December 2021. As Acting Regional Administrator, she was responsible for oversight and management of the activities of the SBA’s eight-state nine-district Region, encompassing the states of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee, which has a footprint that covers some 6.98 million small businesses and entrepreneurs located in the southeastern corridor of the U.S. In January 2025, she was asked again by SBA Headquarters to serve as acting Regional Administrator pending the appointment of the Regional Administrator for the Trump Administration.
Some of Stewart’s associations/affiliations include the Greater-Jackson Chamber Partnership; Vicksburg-Warren Chamber of Commerce; Mississippi Economic Council – State Chamber of Commerce; Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce; Named Federal Manager of the Year by the Greater Jackson Area Federal Execution Association; Recipient of the Greater Jackson Area Federal Executive Association’s Pacesetter Award; Honoree of the Mississippi Business Journal’s 50 Leading Business Women; Named one of 50 of the Most Influential African Americans in Mississippi; and Named in the Inaugural edition of Who’s Who in Black Mississippi. Some of her favorite charities include Gateway Rescue Mission, Habitat for Humanity, the Mississippi Food Network, LIFE Outreach International, Doctors Without Borders, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and numerous other charities and ministries.
“It has been my high honor and privilege to work in federal public service at the Army Corps of Engineers and the Small Business Administration,” Stewart said. “I am extremely grateful for the opportunities it presented. I value my colleagues and friendships made along the way. Moving forward, I plan to do the usual retirees tend to do – exhale, relax, time with family, and then we’ll see what’s next!
“I’ll leave you with one important life point learned along the way: PEOPLE are the core component of any organization,” Stewart continued. “Team members who work together in concert, going in the same and right direction, providing the needed internal and external support, make an effective organization. People are the difference that can either make it or break it. I am blessed to have worked alongside our Mississippi and Alabama District Office teams to provide exceptional service to small businesses and entrepreneurs in each state, and I sincerely thank them for that!”