Cottonwood resident Ruth-Ellen Elinski has been named program director for the Yavapai College Small Business Development Center, effective Aug. 9, according to a news release from Yavapai College.
Elinski will help provide no-cost business consulting services and counseling to help small businesses start, grow, and if necessary, exit their businesses.
Though her office is at the Yavapai College Verde Valley campus in Clarkdale, she will serve all of Yavapai County. She will work from Clarkdale four days a week and a Prescott office one day a week, assisted by a staff of seven. She will report to Karen Jones, director of YC’s Regional Economic Development Center.
Elinski has been a certified business analyst for the college’s small business center since 2018. She has a degree in public affairs management from Indiana University and an associate degree in accounting from Northern Arizona University. Her husband is Cottonwood Mayor Tim Elinski.
Richard Hernandez, YC’s Regional Economic Development Center executive director, said of Elinski: “Ruth-Ellen is the right person at the right time to head the SBDC (Small Business Development Center) to new levels of service in our community. The SBDC has been instrumental in not only providing but also leading business support services and is well-respected in the county.”
