Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Free Expert Panel Brings Small Business Recovery Resources Directly to Altadena

Four specialists in lending, disaster preparedness, and county economic development will field questions from fire-affected entrepreneurs on Wednesday

A free panel on small business recovery and resilience will be held Wednesday at a women-owned Altadena event venue, bringing experts in disaster preparedness, county resources, commercial lending, and impact investing to the community still rebuilding 13 months after the Eaton Fire.

TMC Community Capital and Comerica Bank will host “Beyond the Hustle Live” from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 409 Woodbury, 409 E. Woodbury Rd., according to the event’s Eventbrite listing.

The panel features four specialists: Lily Bui, director of climate and disaster preparedness and resilience at SoCal Grantmakers; Theresa Saguinsin, vice president and district manager at Comerica Bank; Leila Lee, assistant director at the LA County Department of Economic Opportunity; and Aben Hill, chief lending officer at Pacific Community Ventures, according to event promotional materials.

The event will include time for questions and discussion, information on resources available to small business owners, and catering provided by a local business.

Small business owners in the area have cited frustrating delays from insurance companies and limited assistance from federal and state governments as ongoing barriers to recovery, according to CalMatters. Some aid available to homeowners has not been extended to small business owners, the outlet reported.

Preliminary research from UCLA found that microbusinesses drove small business creation in Altadena but face greater challenges in recovery, including barriers to accessing aid and language barriers, according to AfroLA. Early UCLA estimates placed total property and capital losses from the Eaton Fire between $24 billion and $42 billion, according to Marketplace.

“Unfortunately, the rest of the world has moved on, but there’s still so many people that are affected in terms of getting back on their feet, and that affects our customer base,” a Pasadena restaurant owner identified as Tjahyadi told The Center Square in February 2026. Pasadena-area businesses reported being down 30% to 40% as a result of the fire’s impact on the community, according to the outlet.

The event is part of TMC Community Capital’s “Beyond the Hustle” series, a financial education program launched in partnership with Comerica Bank in November 2022, according to the nonprofit’s LinkedIn page. TMC Community Capital is a nonprofit microlender and community development financial institution that deployed nearly $5 million, funding 417 small businesses, according to its GuideStar profile.

The venue, 409 Woodbury, is a women-owned Altadena business with wheelchair accessibility and free street parking, according to the venue’s Yelp listing and venue information.

“Typically when you invest your dollars in small businesses, that money stays in the community,” Silvia González, co-director of research at the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute, told AfroLA. “It produces local jobs, it supports neighborhood stability.”

Registration is free and required through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beyond-the-hustle-live-small-business-recovery-resilience-tickets-1982306773923.