please welcome nicole rivera. >> buenes tardes.ld be here, but we did have house floor votes today. congratulations to all of the honorees for providing leadership and service to the san francisco bay area. the hispanic dream is the american dream. whether serving with great patriotism in the armed services, pursuing higher education, preserving and sharing their culture, demonstrating commitment to family and faith, education and work, the hispanic community makes america a more american. it is my honor today to nominate someone to the table of 12. he brings an understanding of the need to reduce the deficit by creating jobs. last month, i met with a dozen small-business owners in the district and taken their message to the table of 12 so that they know the american entrepreneurial spirit and focus on small business is the answer to job creation. more hispanics are pursuing higher education than ever before. october 20107 all-time high for spent in rome and in college. this is possible because of our increasing of the eplpell gran

i would like to hand over the podium to nicole rivera, who put this together. will introduce the panelists and go over some logistics. i want to point out quickly that we are being recorded by san francisco government tv. the camera in front is only aimed at the podium. it is not taking shots of the audience, only the podium for people who want to ask questions. so do not worry, you are not on tv if you do not want to be. >> thank you for your patience. i am a representative with leader pelosi, and i'm thrilled to have you today to learn more of our best practices for accessing credit. it is a priority for our office. we are very well aware of how small businesses are running up against the wall right now in terms of trying to get the credit and loans they are looking for, so i will try hard to bring the brightest minds in this room so you can effectively fix their range and learn more about what you can do better to fix your business plan and what it is they are looking for. first of all, i will introduce everyone. mark quinn is the san francisco district dire