Meet Michael Roth
Michael Roth is a nationally recognized economic leader: the former Interim Head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, job development and housing expert, and New Jersey native trusted by Senators, Governors, Mayors, and a President to guide America’s economy through crisis and deliver results for millions.
Michael’s commitment to service is rooted in his family’s New Jersey story. Michael was born and raised in New Jersey, where he still lives within minutes of four generations of family.
His grandparents arrived in New Jersey with $18 in their pockets after surviving the Holocaust and opened a small tailor shop in Newark. When Michael was young, his father put an Air Jordan in the shop window — and it took off, transforming the tailor shop into a sneaker store and helping lift the family into the middle class.
After big corporations pushed out small stores like his, Michael’s father poured his energy into serving others through the local Volunteer First Aid Squad, where he has led for thirty years.
Those values — determination, service, and community — shaped Michael’s life. He saw first-hand that success was a product of opportunity, hard work, and a little bit of luck. Michael’s Jewish faith taught him that repairing the world, “tikkun olam,” begins in our own communities. That’s why Michael has dedicated his life to creating economic opportunity for everyone.
Michael graduated from New Jersey public schools before starting his first nonprofit in college dedicated to revitalizing the Lehigh Valley. His early career included roles at IBM, JP Morgan, and Johnson & Johnson, running his own business, and earning his MBA at Wharton.
Michael is one of the nation’s leading figures shaping economies that work for people, having guided the U.S. from crisis to the most equitable recovery in history and delivered real results for New Jersey and communities across the country when others couldn’t. He has:
- Led the U.S. Small Business Administration through the Pandemic, delivering $1 trillion in funding nationwide — including to 200,000 New Jersey small businesses, and saving 1 million jobs across the state.
- Oversaw the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the largest public-private partnership in world history.
- Worked with Congress to write and implement parts of the American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act, and CHIPS and Science Act.
- Served as CEO of Next Street, revitalizing local economies, supporting millions of small businesses, helping create tens of millions of jobs, and unlocking more than $15 billion in local investment across 30+ cities and states.
- Co-founded the Economic Opportunity Coalition, bringing together eight federal agencies, 30 major companies and foundations, and a bipartisan group of 26 U.S. Senators to align tens of billions of private investments for affordable housing and 21st century jobs.
Michael lives in Westfield with his partner and their dog, Remy, and is a proud uncle to five nieces and nephews growing up in New Jersey.
