Ellen Kirton, longtime director of the Pima Community College Small Business Development Center, died Sunday after complications from an illness.
After a long career in banking, Kirton became director of the Pima County SBDC in 2012.
The SBDC joined Pima Community Collegeβs Workforce Development Division in 2016.
βThrough her work assisting and inspiring entrepreneurs in starting, growing and expanding their small businesses, Ellen created a lasting economic impact for future generations,β Pima Community College Chancellor Lee Lambert and other Pima officials said in a news release.
Kirtonβs family will schedule a memorial event to celebrate here life later this spring, the college said.
Kirtonβs 35-year career in banking included a decade as a vice president for Arizona business banking at Chase Bank.
After leaving Chase in 2004, Kirton ran a business consultancy and in 2008 founded EffortlessHR, which offers an internet-based human resources management program.
She a wrote a self-help book, βCinderella is Still Dancing: 8 Choices That Can Improve Your Life,β which was published in 2009.
Kirton volunteered on the boards of several local nonprofits, including the Better Business Bureau, Make-A-Wish Foundation, New Beginnings for Women and Children, and the breast-cancer charity Susan G. Komen.
Among many awards and accolades Kirton received, she was the U.S. Small Business Administrationβs 2018 Veteran Advocate of the Year for Arizona, and she was awarded the 2020 Community Service Champion Women of Influence Award.
Pima Community College is collecting condolences and letters for Kirtonβs family through the SBDC. They should be addressed to: Pima Community College SBDC, Attention: Karen Burns, 4905 E. Broadway, Room C-128, Tucson, AZ 85709.
