Christine E.B. Howard never imagined that a graduate school dissertation on modern archeological record and environmental justice would one day lead her to national recognition as a trailblazing entrepreneur. But today, as the founder of E.B. Howard Consulting, a woman-owned firm specializing in non-dilutive funding, grant writing and evaluation, she is not only transforming organizations, she’s changing the game for women in a male-dominated space.
“My path here wasn’t conventional,” says Christine, a NAWBO Buffalo Niagara member and finalist for the 2025 Woman Business Owner of the Year Award. In fact, she went from studying archeology and statistics to navigating an at times toxic workplace to finally deciding to build the kind of business and life she wanted.
That decision came after nearly a decade working as an evaluator, assessing the effectiveness and impacts of grant-funded after-school programs, school improvement projects and more in underserved communities. When the company she worked for underwent changes and she was looking for her next opportunity, she felt a pull in a new direction.
“I was going on interview after interview and hated it,” Christine recalls. “I could see what was ahead of me and that the jobs and environments weren’t for me. So I put out a shingle and started consulting.”
E.B. Howard Consulting was born in 2013 with a mission rooted in evaluation, but quickly expanded. As Christine supported organizations in measuring outcomes, clients started asking her to help write the grants too. Then came the request: “Can you also help us find the funding?” She leaned in, learned fast and found her niche by 2018—serving startups, innovation ecosystems, higher education institutions and consortiums.
Christine’s firm stands out for one reason above all: They back up everything with evidence. “If we say we’ve helped clients secure $150 million in funding, we can prove it,” she says. “If we say eight clients have had successful exits within five years of working with us, we have the data. There’s a lot of competition in this space, but very few approach it with the same level of ethics.”
That commitment to integrity is especially important for clients seeking venture capital or angel investment. When investors look at their books, they are going to want to know where every dollar went, including grant dollars. If there’s any fuzziness there, it can kill a deal. That’s why ethics isn’t optional in Christine’s work, it’s foundational.
Another advantage of Christine’s firm—both for her and her clients—is her small but mighty team of four, who are all fully remote by design. “I wouldn’t be where I’m at today without them,” she says. “I didn’t build a successful business by myself.”
Their support proved vital during one of the most challenging seasons of Christine’s life. Beginning at the height of the pandemic in March 2021, she was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery, chemotherapy and immunotherapy for nearly two years, all while continuing to lead her firm. “There were weeks where I had treatment on Thursday, took Friday off, worked half days on Monday and Tuesday and then was okay by Wednesday,” she recalls of the cycle that would repeat every several weeks.
This resilience as well as her clarity of vision have made her a successful entrepreneur, sought-after speaker, a trusted advisor and a force for good in the business world. She also gives back through board leadership, currently serving as Board Chair for CCNY and supporting women in business through advocacy and mentoring.
Christine’s journey with NAWBO began in September 2015, after a fellow woman entrepreneur encouraged her to give the Buffalo Niagara chapter another try. “I was tired of being the only woman in the room at networking events where everyone knew each other,” she says. “NAWBO felt different. They were real business owners doing real things.” She joined the following year, went on to serve on the board and as chapter president, and will soon return in an advisory role to help preserve institutional knowledge.
She also champions certification as a woman-owned business. After starting the process in December 2018, she became New York State WBE certified exactly one year later in 2019. Around the same time, she self-certified through the SBA, which she renewed in 2024. Christine shared her New York State experience in a whitepaper project led by Immediate Past National President Lisa Coppola, who is also from Buffalo Niagara. This included both how long the process took as well as how it took into consideration your spouse’s income.
“Women often feel like we have to have every credential, every piece of documentation to prove ourselves,” Christine says. “My certifications as well as memberships are one more way to show we’re capable, qualified and ready and I list them everywhere.”
This year, Christine self-nominated for the Woman Business Owner of the Year Award after being a Top 10 finalist twice before. “I thought, ‘Let’s see what happens,’” she says. “When I made Top 3, I was stunned and excited of course. Three times is a charm!”
For Christine, excellence is about more than results. “Everything we do, whether it’s finding funding or applying or measuring outcomes, we approach with the idea that we want to help our clients learn how to do it for themselves if they have capacity down the road,” she says.
Because for Christine, true success isn’t just about leading—it’s about lifting others as she climbs.