
Stephen Newton

Business Consultant
Consultant, DeKalb Office
Growing up on a farm in rural south Georgia, I learned early in life the importance of responsibility and hard work. The entrepreneurial spirit is instilled early in those experiences. In High School I learned the hard lessons and risks associated with agricultural business and the importance of managing cash flow through the seasons of preparing, planting, managing, and harvest. In college I pursued degrees in economics and finance and after graduation applied my education in both public policy and private enterprise. As an ACE Hardware store owner for nearly a decade during one of the toughest economic cycles in our lifetime I learned first hand the many challenges start up businesses contend with. After closing that business in January 2016 I was offered the opportunity to work with the UGA SBDC in Dekalb and hope to use both my education and experience as a business owner to help other entrepreneurs achieve their goals.
Education
- MBA Finance – DePaul University
- MS(ABT) Ag. Econ – UGA
- BS Ag. Econ – UGA
Experience
- UGA SBDC Business Consultant from August 2016 to present
- Owner/Manager Ace Hardware Windermere July 2009 to January 2016
- Partner Ogeechee Peaches, Millen, GA. 2003-2010.
- Executive Director, Southern Nursery Association, Atlanta, GA November 2006 to July 2009
- FSA State Director, Athens, GA and Special Assistant to the USDA Secretary, November 2002-November 2006
- Executive Director, Forest Landowners Association, Atlanta, GA November 1994 – November 2002
- Legislative Assistant, US Senator Paul Coverdell, Washington, DC November 1992- November 1994
Volunteer
- President of the University of Georgia Student Senate
- President of UGA Ag Hill Council
- President, AGHON, Honor Society,
- State President Future Farmers of America
- Member Gridiron Secret Society,
- Named Outstanding AG Alumni University of Georgia 2004