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Q&A with Anne Evans What is your passion? Making a difference for the community in which I live. It makes me happy. Have a quote that resonates with you? “It is what it is.” You have to take what you get and make the best of it. Having a recession isn’t fair, but we’ve all got to work together to get out of it. What is your greatest strength? Being a good leader. Not a lot of things scare me - lightning yes - but in business, not too much. I am not afraid to ask for anything - the most someone can say is no. If you were stuck in an elevator, who would you want with you? Someone tall and someone strong. I’m practical. No really, someone who is my friend so I can count on them to work with me to get us out.
Anne Evans with Congressman Chris Murphy and Marc Nemeth at Jonal Laboratories in Meriden.
Fierce. Tenacious. Committed. When we asked Connecticut manufacturers, who have worked with Anne, to describe her, a theme developed. Fiercely committed to helping the state’s industry reach new global markets, tenacious and steadfast in her efforts, Anne Evans, Director of the U.S. Export Assistance Center in Middletown, Connecticut realizes the agency’s work has a simple end goal: jobs, “Simply, our job is about jobs. And our job is to bring U.S. companies to global markets and for me it’s the state of Connecticut.”
markets, “Basically, companies need more customers. They can do a great job here in the U.S., but getting more customers overseas means more sales, more opportunities to grow and to create jobs.”
Working with approximately 3,500 companies, the U.S. Export Assistance Center conducts training - teaching companies how to work with companies overseas and how to correctly complete documentation, “But more importantly,” Anne adds, “We train on markets. What is the best market for your product and how can we get you to that market.”
With a small staff, the agency’s focus is on companies who are already exporting and are looking to enter new markets, or companies who are well-positioned and ready to export for the first time, “When I began this job a little under four years ago, we immediately went into a recession. I have had meetings where companies tell me that they were ready to lay off whole assembly lines if they did not get into overseas markets.”
With offices in over 80 countries, Anne’s office works to coordinate efforts to bring Connecticut companies into overseas
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As one of two full time staff members, Anne is assisted by interns who are members of a military internship program providing business skills to transitioning military or new veterans, “These men and women are mission-focused, mature individuals who are vital parts of our staff.”
Part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Anne and her staff organizes, in partnership
with the state’s five congressional and two senatorial delegates, trade missions for companies to visit overseas markets and make valuable connections, “We were just notified that a Connecticut company has gotten a $23 million dollar contract following our China trade mission this past July.” Leveraging technology to become more cost and time efficient, the agency uses webinars for training and e-mail to communicate their successes, “We like to talk about what we do, show companies that we are here to help.” “The best part of my job is working with the companies. These men and women are working hard and we’re happy to work hard right next to them. When we succeed, we make our communities stronger.”
Learn more about the services offered by the U.S. Export Assistance Center by visiting http://export.gov/connecticut/