AZ - ARIZONA
Small Business High Technology Institute
346 W. Georgia Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85013

Milton D. Stewart, Esquire and Joan Stewart
Founders and SBIR Pioneers
Tel: 602-277-6603
Fax: 602-279-7175

As the first Chief Counsel of the Office of Advocacy, US Small Business Administration, Milt Stewart was the Administration's "Father" of the SBIR program. Shortly after his appointment confirmation in 1977, Milt convened a task force of more than twenty venture capitalists and technology entrepreneurs from across the country to review the process of small business and technological innovation. The resulting 1979 report "Small Business and Innovation" formed the basis of the legislation that established the SBIR program (H.R. 5607 and S. 1860, Small Business Innovation Act of 1979). The SBIR legislation was strongly supported by the delegates to the first White House Conference on Small Business in 1980, and was passed by Congress with strong bi-partisan support as the Small Business Innovation Development Act (Public Law 97-219) and signed into law by President Reagan in 1982.

After retiring from a long and distinguished service to the government, Milt and Joan moved to Arizona. They remain strong supporters of the SBIR program and have provided testimony to all major legislative actions extending and expanding the program. Through the Small Business High Technology Institute, the Stewarts have encouraged the establishment of the Arizona Innovation Network, the SBIR-WEST organization supported by US WEST, and numerous other small business technology support organizations. The SBIR-WEST operation has provided support for small technology companies throughout the US West states (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming). In addition, they sponsored the Academy of Technology Entrepreneurs and Innovators which has brought the leaders of the SBIR industry community together across the country to provide support to companies entering the SBIR program. It is conservative to state that the primary drivers of the SBIR successes and the support organizations in the SBIR-WEST and EPSCoR states have been the Stewarts through their unselfish and dedicated service to the small technology companies.