Mr. Knapp co-founded the SC Small Business Chamber of Commerce (SCSBCC) in February of 2000. He serves as the president and CEO of the 5000+ member statewide advocacy organization that has taken a leadership role in making South Carolina more small business friendly in areas such as taxation, regulation, worker training, Workers Compensation Insurance, utility costs, health insurance, energy/conservation and economic development.
Mr. Knapp also currently serves as Director of the Business for Democracy campaign of the American Sustainable Business Network and national coordinator of the national coalition Reform the SBA: BIGGER Mission, Authority and Resources.
Mr. Knapp serves on the Advisory Board for the South Carolina Small Business Development Center and was recognized by the Small Business Administration as the 2014 South Carolina Small Business Financing Advocate of the Year. From 2015 to 2017 Mr. Knapp served on the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Region IV Regulatory Fairness Board, an advisory body to the SBA Office of the National Ombudsman.
Mr. Knapp previously served on the Board of Directors of the American Sustainable Business Council (2011-2022) and as co-chair of Small Business for America's Future (2017-2022). In 2016 he co-founded the Business Alliance for Protecting the Atlantic Coast and served as its president and CEO until April 2018.
Mr. Knapp is also the president of The Knapp Agency, a full service advertising/public relations firm he founded in 1991 in Columbia, SC. For over 30 years he has provided marketing services to locally-owed small businesses.
Mr. Knapp holds a Master’s Degree in Social Psychology from the University of South Carolina and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
More about Mr. Knapp can be found here.