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Lourdes Coss, MPA, CPPO - is the author of “Procurement Methods: Effective Techniques;” a certified John Maxwell Team Coach, Speaker, Teacher, and Trainer. She's also certified to train and consult on D.I.S.C. Personality Assessment Tool. Lourdes is an accomplished procurement professional with approximately 30 years of experience, 17 of which were leading procurement transformations in large organizations. Lourdes held Chief Procurement Officer and executive level positions in major public organizations, such as: City of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago, Public Building Commission of Chicago, Cook County, and City of Houston; and is now working with Canon Solutions America as a subject matter expert for government. She continues to add value to public entities through consulting, training, and as an NIGP instructor. Lourdes led transformative changes in various agencies leading to savings in excess of $150 Million, higher personnel credentials; and transition to strategic/value add operations. She authored and implemented the procurement code for the City of Houston and participated in the development of and implemented the procurement code for Cook County. Achievements include: national awards for operational excellence, cost savings, 2016 Spirit of NIGP, and 2018 NIGP Integrity Award. Lourdes also held positions on various Boards, including NIGP. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Puerto Rico and received her MPA from Florida State University.

Maureen currently works for the Virginia IT Agency (VITA) with in its Supplier Strategy and Performance Division as a Senior Commercial Contract Manager; she is responsible for the day-to-day management of 2- multi million dollar IT Infrastructure Services Platform contracts. Maureen has over 34 years of experience in Public Procurement. She served in the United States Air Force, worked for Miami-Dade Transit Agency in Miami Florida, for the City of Richmond in Richmond Virginia and the Department of General Services in Richmond VA. Maureen has held positions as a Buyer, Contracting Officer, Senior Contract Officer, Contract Administrator, Procurement Management Account Executive and Senor Commercial Contract Manager. Maureen has a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration and holds CPPO, CPPB, and VCO certifications and instructs independently and for the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing.

Professional Certification(s) obtained: CPPO, B.S. Economics; University of Minnesota M.S. Contract Administration and Acquisition; Florida Institute of Technology

Experience:
Bill is the Director of Purchasing for Stearns County Minnesota. He has Experience in Design Build and Traditional bidding. He has developed numerous RFP’s for several enterprise software systems, website projects and professional services including; County financial system, Zoning and planning consultants, architects and automation of Law Enforcement operations and 800 mhz radio. Bill is adjunct professor for Florida Atlantic University, he teaches Contract Administration for graduate and undergraduates.

Bill is a master instructor for NIGP.

Bill has authored several procurement texts; The 2004 NIGP Contract Administration text, and was the text editor for the 1999 Intermediate Public Procurement text, lead author for the 2000 Contract Management text.

Bill has had 3 papers, on Contract Administration, accepted for publication in the Journal of Public Procurement and Journal of Research Management. These papers have been presented at the 2nd and 3rd annual International Public Procurement Conferences. Bill was selected by NIGP as the 2000 National Manager of the Year.

On the Faculty of:
Fundamentals of Leadership & Management
Introduction to Public Procurement
Contract Administration
CPPO Prep
CPPB Prep
Protest and Disputes: What's a Buyer to Do?

Originally from Australia, Nathan worked as an attorney both Down Under and in the UK before he found his true calling – procurement. He currently works for Lexington County School District One in Columbia, South Carolina buying goods and services (mainly IT-related) to help the schools prepare our leaders of tomorrow. Nathan also teaches NIGP classes to procurement professionals around the country, specializing in Technology and Cloud Procurement. And no, he does not know Chris Hemsworth.

Sydnee Distance is a Contract Management professional hailing from Baltimore, MD. Ms. Distance began her career in grant management while working on her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Capitol Technology University in Laurel, MD. Shortly after graduation, Sydnee transitioned to private-sector contracting at Oracle. In 2014, Ms. Distance graduated from the Florida Institute of Technology with a Master of Science in Acquisition and Contract Management. During that time, Ms. Distance moved to state government, where she served as a Budget Analyst and a Procurement Lead. In 2020, Sydnee moved to Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, where she currently serves as a Senior Contract Administrator (CA III) with a $1 million dollar warrant. Ms. Distance is deeply passionate about contracting and procurement and continuously seeks to expand her knowledge in this field. Sydnee holds three certifications in government contracting, namely the Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) from UPPCC, the Certified Procurement Professional (NIGP-CPP) from NIGP, and the recently obtained Certified Contract Management Associate (CCMA) from NCMA. Sydnee is currently attending Northcentral University while she pursues a Doctor of Business Administration in Organizational Leadership with a minor in Education. Sydnee has found her passion in procurement education and recently designed and created an "Onboarding and Training" four-part course at Washington Metro for new hires Outside of her professional pursuits, Sydnee finds fulfillment in her three main forces in life: family, traveling, and her passion for her work. Guided by the belief that what you give to the world comes back to you, she embraces the golden rule of treating others with love, kindness, and respect.

Professional Certification(s) obtained: CPPO, CPPB

Experience: Carolyn retired from Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Finance and Administration Cabinet, Division of Engineering & Contract Administration (DECA), where she served a Strategic Procurement Specialist III.

> With over 29 years of experience, she has held a variety of positions in both the private and public sectors. Carolyn started her formal procurement career in the private sector, purchasing IT hardware, software, and paper goods for manufacturing plants, including Whirlpool Corporation. Later, she took a public procurement position at the Cabinet for Health & Family Services (CHFS), where she began as Administrative Secretary to the Branch Manager of the Procurement Dept. There, she moved through the ranks of Purchasing Officer I, II, III, Purchasing Agent I, and Internal Policy Analyst II, conducting complex Request For Proposals (RFPs) for Child Support, Food Stamps, Medicaid, IT technology, maintenance agreements, copiers, cell phones, etc. She also conducted solicitations for construction projects, equipment, maintenance, repairs, and Capital projects for the various State agencies, as well as the Kentucky universities and Department of Military Affairs.

Carolyn is a long time member and served as Chapter President for the Kentucky Public Procurement Association (KPPA) and serves on the Forum Committee for NIGP

NIGP Courses / Topics:
Contract Administration
Contracting for Construction Services
CPPO PREP
CPPB PREP
Developing and Managing Requests for Proposals
Introduction to Public Procurement

Elvia Fernandez is the owner of Elvia R Fernandez Consulting, LLC; a former Deputy Chief Procurement Officer with 25 years of experience in different facets of procurement. Elvia held senior leadership positions in procurement for large government agencies, such as the City of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the Cook County Government. She has a track record of leading her teams to achieve high levels of productivity, efficiency, and sustainable results. Elvia is a hands-on leader experienced in various facets of procurement including but not limited to construction, A&E, and a variety of goods and services. She is also experienced in monitoring and compliance with diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana, where she obtained her B.S. in Business Administration; holds dual certifications from the Universal Procurement Certification Council: CPPB and CPPO; National Institute of Governmental Purchasing’s Certified Procurement Professional designation (NIGP-CPP); and is a certified Maxwell Leadership Team Coach, Speaker, and Trainer; a DISC Personality Assessment Trainer; a Dr. Amen Brain Health Licensed Trainer; and Neuroencoding Specialist. Elvia is an ambassador member and team lead of Empowered Living and a NIGP Consultant.

Denise is the Procurement and Contract Management Services Manager for the City of Fort Myers located in beautiful Southwest Florida. Prior to joining the City, Denise served as the Purchasing Manager for Lee County Port Authority, the Associate Director for the University of Kentucky’s Purchasing Division and as the Director of Procurement and Contract Management Services for Yavapai Community College in Prescott, Arizona. Denise has enjoyed the many opportunities that NIGP has helped her with over her career. With almost thirty years of procurement experience in both the public and private sectors, in the U.S and in Canada, she has a proven track record of designing and delivering outcome-oriented policies and programs that strengthen talent development and organizational effectiveness. Denise is very active in NIGP; The Institute for Public Procurement, FAPPO; Florida Association of Public Procurement Officials and GCAPGO; Gulf Coast Association of Governmental Purchasing Officers, She was a founding member of the Grand Canyon Chapter of NIGP serving as both President and Vice-President and served on the Board of NIGP Kentucky Public Procurement Association. Denise was active in NAEP; The National Association of Educational Procurement during her time in higher education. She served on the Board of NAEP as the secretary, 2nd Vice President, 1st Vice President and Executive Vice President of the National Board of Directors and NAEP representative on the E&I Board. She chaired the Professional Development Committee very successfully for seven years leading the team that created the Competency Model that has produced updated job descriptions and changes to the training programs offered both online and in person. Denise was also active with the National Purchasing Institute (NPI) for several years serving on their Board of Directors from 2005 through 2007. Denise served on the UPPCC Board of Examiners for nine years, chairing for the last four; she is proud to be part of the team that has improved Pubic Purchasing Certifications and assisted in make the certifications available to all non-profit schools, both public and private. She has also served on the UPPCC Job Analysis Task Force and the Test Specifications Task Force. Denise has made presentations at national and regional meetings for NIGP, NAEP, NPI, SparX and Educause and is a senior consultant for the NIGP Consulting team. She is passionate about the Procurement Profession, continuing education and certification. Denise currently serves as the Secretary for FAPPO and as the NIGP representative on the NCPPC. www.linkedin.com/in/DeniseKFinn