'I'm going to do the work': Della Clark honored with Diversity in Business Lifetime Achievement Award

After 30 years at the Enterprise Center, Della Clark says her work is just getting started.

For most, that’s an unusual sentiment. After decades of work, thoughts of retirement begin to take hold. But for Clark, a champion of Philadelphia-area women and minority business owners for the past three decades, there’s only room for growth.

Clark became president of the Enterprise Center in 1992. At the time, the West Philadelphia organization was in its infancy. Formed in 1989 by David Thornburgh and Larry Bell, Clark has molded the Enterprise Center into what it is today – a multifaceted nonprofit that includes a community development financial institution (CDFI) and more recently a small business investment company (SBIC).

During her presidency, the Enterprise Center has worked with businesses to obtain $870 million in contracts and $209 million in financing. Clark also played a critical role in helping local small business owners, who were the hardest hit, secure Paycheck Protection Program funding at the height of the Covid-19 outbreak.

For her three decades of leadership at the Enterprise Center, the Business Journal is proud to honor Clark as the 2022 Diversity in Business Awards Lifetime Achievement recipient.

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