The chamber closed its Women's Business Center in October when its Small Business Administration funding ran out. Since then, the Women's Business Institute at Salt Lake Community College has taken over the center's mentoring and counseling programs, and the chamber has continued to operate other efforts, such as the annual Women and Business Conference and the monthly Business Women's Forum.

In March, the chamber once again secured federal funding and will use that money to provide a full-time women's business counselor at the chamber, said Natalie Gochnour, the organization's chief operating officer and a member of the newly formed advisory board.

She said the exact amount of funding will be determined pending budget discussion with the SBA.

The advisory board is made up of leaders from local businesses and from women's organizations, 14 women and one man in all who will serve two- or three-year terms.

The only male is Steve Allnatt from American Express. "This is a very familiar road to him. He's very involved in the community," Gochnour said.

The advisory board will be called on to advise the chamber's executive team and board on the priorities for women's events and services offered at the chamber, and advise the Women's Business Center on providing technical assistance to women who own or plan to start a business.

"When our grant ended, we outsourced counseling to the community college, but now we'll be able to offer [counseling] services to more people," Gochnour said. "For some it may be more convenient to meet downtown, or some may prefer the Miller campus [at SLCC], but both will be available free of charge."

The advisory board is expected to conduct its first meeting in the next two weeks.

blange@sltrib.com