MARIA NOELTitle: Director of Minority Business Assistance at the Chattanooga Chamber of CommerceEducation: Graduated from City High School, earned an English literature degree with a minor in black studies from the University of Tennessee at KnoxvilleCareer: Noel got her first job working in her father’s office with Chattanooga’s Equal Employment Opportunity and fair housing divisions. She has held a variety of jobs including real estate agent, journalist, private consultant and, most recently, community revitalization manager at The Enterprise Center.Personal: Noel grew up in Alton Park and has lived in the Chattanooga for most of her life. Her two sisters still live in the area.
Growing up in Alton Park, Maria Noel assumed all grown-ups owned their own businesses.
Her father’s shoe store outfitted everyone in her neighborhood. The man down the street worked on everyone’s cars, and the neighbor woman kept everyone’s hair trimmed and stylish.
As she got older, she learned firsthand what a business owner needs to do to succeed and how the community needs to respond to that business for it to thrive.
“You saw the struggles, too. You saw the struggles of trying to run a business and raise a family,” she said. “It was just the fabric of my growing up.”