Start Small Think Big names Brendan Landry Director of Corporate Engagement

NEW YORK — August 12, 2026 — Start Small Think Big ("Start Small") has announced that Brendan Landry has joined the organization as Director of Corporate Engagement, effective June 1. Landry will lead Start Small's relationships with corporate partners, including leading law firms and financial institutions.

Those partnerships connect under-resourced entrepreneurs with lawyers and financial advisors whose expertise can make the difference between a business that makes it and one that doesn't. Start Small matches entrepreneurs with pro bono attorneys and financial professionals, giving them access to high-quality expertise they might otherwise be unable to afford.

Start Small Executive Director Mabell Fernandez said, "Strong pro bono partnerships need both thoughtful relationship management and excellent program delivery. Brendan gives us the ability to invest deeply in both. He'll be dedicated to understanding what each partner cares about and finding new ways to deepen their engagement, while our Program Directors can focus on ensuring every volunteer professional and entrepreneur is well-matched and supported. Ultimately, bringing on Brendan means a stronger experience for our partners, our volunteers, and, most importantly, the entrepreneurs we serve."

Landry joins Start Small with 20 years in the nonprofit sector, most recently as Chief Program Officer for Boston-based nonprofit CommonWealth Kitchen. There, he oversaw entrepreneurship programming connecting food business owners to training, mentorship, and capital, helping entrepreneurs move from shared kitchen space into retail shelves, campus dining contracts, and their own storefronts. Landry previously served as the Innovation Portfolio Manager at the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO), the national trade association for microbusiness and microfinance. He co-authored an insight brief on AEO's Business Health Assessment, built with support from Capital One and program partners including ONABEN and the Washington Area Community Investment Fund. Additionally, Landry co-founded a Denver-based community development financial institution and led a business development and lending program for entrepreneurs in under-resourced communities.

Brendan Landry said, "It's an honor to join Start Small Think Big. So much of whether a business makes it comes down to your network: who's in your corner, who you trust to ask the hard questions. For someone starting a business out of necessity, that kind of support is often out of reach. What Start Small does so well is open the door for legal and finance experts to step in and become that trusted guide for the entrepreneurs who need it most."

Start Small's corporate partner network includes many high-profile legal and financial corporate partners, including Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, Lowenstein Sandler LLP, CITI, Target, Alliance Bernstein and Blackstone.

Landry's appointment is the latest addition to Start Small's leadership team following the January 2026 announcement of Mabell Fernandez as Start Small's new Executive Director. From 2016 to 2021, Fernandez led Start Small's efforts to amplify entrepreneurs' visibility through resource development and training sessions.

Media contact: Meg Biallas, Chief Marketing Officer, press@startsmallthinkbig.org