(Washington, DC) — Mayor Adrian M. Fenty announced Monday that Nicole J. Becton will become Interim Director of the Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD). Ms. Becton succeeds Erik A. Moses, who will become the Chief Executive Officer of DC’s Sports and Entertainment Commission.

Already having served as a key player and advocate for the agency in her previous role as General Counsel/Director of Policy and Planning, Ms. Becton is well poised to take over leadership of the agency that promotes and supports small business in the District of Columbia.

“I am very excited to follow in Erik Moses’ footsteps. I look forward to continuing our agency’s success in building a more effective, efficient agency that comprehensively serves our city’s small business community,” Ms. Becton said.

“Under the Fenty administration, DSLBD has made an impact in reforming and expanding our services, and we will continue our charge of fostering the economic growth, development, and retention of locally-based businesses,” she said.

Before coming to DSLBD a year and a half ago, Ms. Becton worked in private practice with the law firm Kaye Scholer LLP in the District of Columbia, where she focused on a variety of regulatory and litigation matters and on civil rights law. She received her BA in English from the University of Virginia and her law degree from the Duke University School of Law.