Executive Vice President of Government Affairs Stephanie Swanson is seen in this file photo in conversation with MBTA General Manager and Interim Secretary of Transportation Phillip Eng.

Stephanie Swanson, Executive Vice President of Government Affairs at AIM, is among 20 business leaders name to a new advisory council charged with providing strategic direction Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (MSBDC).

Swanson and fellow council members will conduct their first meeting on Friday.

The council will help MSBDC implement an ambitious five-year strategic plan that the organization says “will strengthen our ability to help build and grow sustainable businesses that drive economic growth and innovation across Massachusetts.”

MSBDC has assembled CEOs, entrepreneurs, professional service providers, economic-development partners and government leaders to ensure that the agency remains responsive to the evolving needs of small businesses across the Commonwealth.

Swanson says her task will be to provide strategic insight on emerging issues affecting small businesses, identify opportunities for collaboration and new programming, and help shape MSBDCs services and initiatives in a manner that maximizes their impact.

“The vast majority of businesses in Massachusetts are small businesses, and the vast majority of AIM members are small businesses. These companies often don’t have the financial or personnel resources that larger companies do so the work done by MSBDC is critical to growing the Massachusetts economy,” Swanson said.

The advisory council includes the president or CEOs of companies such as Boston Centerless, Aerodyne Research, Akers Industries and Phoenix Tailings. Other members represent banking, law firms and business groups.

Swanson joined AIM in January 2023 after more than a decade working on Beacon Hill. Before arriving at AIM, she served as Chief of Staff and General Counsel for the Office of then-Senator Eric P. Lesser.

A political science and economics graduate of Tufts University, Swanson studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science before earning her law degree in 2012 from Northeastern University School of Law.