Paula Murphy Appointed State Director of Mass. Small Business Development Center Network

Veteran trade and business development leader brings more than 30 years of experience to role under UMass Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management

AMHERST—The Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has appointed Paula Murphy as the new state director of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (MSBDC) Network.

The MSBDC Network—a partnership of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Massachusetts Office of Business Development, and a consortium of higher education institutions led by Isenberg—provides free, confidential advising and training to thousands of small- and mid-sized businesses across the commonwealth. Through six regional business advisory centers and specialized programs in government contracting, technology commercialization, and international trade, the network equips small- and mid-sized businesses with the knowledge and tools to launch, grow, and compete in today’s dynamic economy.

Murphy is well-known to the MSBDC community. She founded and directed the Massachusetts Export Center, the network’s international trade arm, in 1994. Under her leadership, the center became one of the nation’s most respected export-assistance programs, helping Bay State companies achieve more than $200 million in annual export sales and earning multiple national honors, including the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Excellence and Innovation Award and the Presidential E Award—the federal government’s highest recognition for contributions to American exports.

“It is an honor to be selected as the new state director for the MSBDC Network and to become part of the UMass Amherst Isenberg School of Management team,” Murphy said. “My primary goal is to build upon MSBDC’s legacy of great work and further evolve this top-performing, values-driven network. In the near term, we’ll streamline operations and develop targeted client services to better reach high-growth clients in sectors such as manufacturing and technology. Over the longer term, I’m eager to strengthen collaboration with Isenberg and the broader UMass Amherst community—through internships, student consulting projects, and joint research—to amplify our economic impact statewide.”

Murphy brings more than 30 years of international trade and business development experience in both public and private sectors. In addition to her leadership at the Export Center, she taught graduate-level international marketing and export/import operations at Boston University and previously served as an international trade advisor for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and as an international marketing analyst with Hagan & Company. Her early work included representing the Irish Trade Board (now Enterprise Ireland) and the Australian Commission in New England.

Throughout her career, Murphy has been recognized for professional excellence and service. She is a Certified Global Business Professional, a Certified U.S. Export Compliance Officer and a five-time recipient of the Massachusetts State Star award from the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC). A graduate of Suffolk University, Murphy has served on multiple nonprofit boards and as national co-chair of the ASBDC’s International Trade Committee.

“Paula Murphy brings extraordinary experience and deep institutional knowledge to this position,” said William D. Brown Jr, PhD, Senior Associate Dean and Chancellor’s Leadership Fellow at Isenberg. “She has already served as our interim state director since March and has been a driving force in small-business support for three decades. Isenberg Dean Anne Massey and I are thrilled to welcome her permanently into this leadership role and look forward to expanding opportunities for Isenberg students and faculty to engage with the MSBDC in ways that directly benefit Massachusetts businesses.”

As state director, Murphy will oversee the network’s nine offices across the commonwealth, including the MSBDC state office in Amherst, regional centers in Newton, Fall River, Pittsfield, Salem, Springfield, and Worcester, as well as the Massachusetts Export Center and Government Sales Center.

Murphy says Massachusetts’ collaborative spirit is central to its economic success.

“I’m a Massachusetts native, and I believe our state’s world-class universities and culture of innovation create an unmatched environment for business growth,” she said. “Our entrepreneurs and businesses are resilient, inventive, and ready to complete globally, and the MSBDC’s mission is to make sure they have the resources and guidance to do exactly that.”

About the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network

The MSBDC Network provides no-cost, confidential business advising and affordable educational programs to prospective and existing small businesses statewide. Services focus on business planning, financing, operations, marketing, and global trade. The MSBDC Network is a partnership of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Massachusetts Office of Business Development, and a consortium of higher education institutions led by the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst.

About the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst

The Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has one of New England’s top-ranked public business school undergraduate programs, according to U.S. News & World Report. Founded in 1947, Isenberg is AACSB-accredited and has more than 4,000 undergraduates majoring in seven business disciplines, ranging from accounting and marketing to sport and hospitality and tourism management. More than 2,000 students are enrolled in nationally and internationally recognized on-campus and online graduate programs. The school’s 50,000 alumni live and work in more than 80 countries, and many of them serve as mentors, guest lecturers, and network connectors for Isenberg.