Featuring experts speaking on the most pressing member-selected topics impacting your organization:
Max V. Langenkamp
Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer & Vice President – Human Resources Cintas Corporation
Marcheta Gillespie, FNIGP, CPPO, CPPB, CPM, C.P.M,
NIGP Consulting Program Manager
Jackie S. Martin
Change Cycle Expert
All times are in Eastern Standard Time.
Join Todd, NIGP’s Chief Content Officer, in a casual conversation around learning in today’s world. Take this opportunity to share ideas about Specialization Certificates, learning barriers and successes, and ideas on how NIGP can support your professional career goals.
A wise person once said, “Understand where you are in the journey.” In August, NIGP’s Creating Excellence Learning Lab started its journey using leaders in our profession to help experiment with disciplines essential to effective teams. Now two thirds of the way through the series, join us to learn seven key questions team leaders ask: our lessons so far in this journey.
Join NIGP leaders: Taylor Adams, Carrie Mathes, Tara Acton, Art Moore & Cheral Manke as they discuss their role as a change champion, working to reinvent the governance structure of NIGP to focus on key industry issues like; diversity & inclusion, service delivery, change management and volunteerism.
Most of us know that change is essential for growth and progress. However, the amount of change that’s occurring today is testing both teams and managers on their ability to adapt and stay flexible like never before.
Learn what change really is and why we respond the way we do. Discover how our responses to change are being tested and how to use change as a catalyst to drive growth, progress, and success. Gain insight into how you and others think, feel, and behave during times of massive change like these, then learn to recognize and utilize the best practices for helping you and your team make it through to the other side.
What You’ll Learn:
In this session, we discuss options and methods for increasing diversity in the public procurement profession. These options include education, mentorship, and network support. We also look at case studies of professionals in the field from diverse backgrounds and pinpoint methods and methodologies that can be applied to personal situations.
Discuss real-life scenarios mirroring the toughest questions in Cooperative Purchasing and learn about available tools and resources to help make cooperative purchasing easier all while saving time and money. Get answers to questions such as:
Craig Rader will provide a first-hand account of how to navigate using contracts as a resource and Jennifer Sulentic brings unique expertise and perspective from public agencies, cooperatives and suppliers related to taking advantage of cooperative purchasing benefits.
This pandemic season has impacted everyone. While many have successfully pivoted into the new routines of the virtual work environment, many continue to tackle the impacts to business operations and impacts to our staff. Our expert panel discusses how they are managing the impacts to personnel, policy, process and stakeholder relations. As we refine our leadership approach, we learn how to better engage and build relationships with our peers, our staff, our customers, our suppliers...even our community. We share lessons learned, pitfalls, successes and future challenges.
Ever wonder why some changes succeed and others flounder and are eventually abandoned? Or why your boss’s new great idea today will be forgotten tomorrow? Or why some organizations seem to embrace and even flourish through change and others can’t get out of their own way? Get answers to these and many other challenging change management questions. During the session, we will apply the lens of Newtonian Physics to define the parameters needed for a successful change initiative. As a result you will learn better approaches to the initiation, maintenance and institutionalization of change in your organization.
The District of Columbia region has arguably some of the largest capital programs in the country, with multiple large scale infrastructure projects over the next 10 years. These projects, such as the 2.7 Billion Dollar Clean Rivers Project, create lasting economic and environmental opportunities. Moreover, because these projects are largely funded by local ratepayers and businesses, agencies, organizations and prime contractors have a duty to ensure that small and diverse businesses share in these opportunities.
For that reason, DC Water implemented a comprehensive diversity and inclusion program, inclusive of ambitious utilization goals, comprehensive outreach and communication - all designed to maximize opportunities for certified firms and remove barriers to participation.
This session reviews DC Water’s compliance programs, lessons learned, and discusses how all firms can best benefit from these efforts.
NIGP's create your own session concept is back for Winter VCON! We want to hear from you! We have reserved six session spaces, an hour each, for attendees of Winter VCON to create their own sessions. If you have a topic of interest, sign up and we will advertise the session on your behalf, then on the day of the session you will lead a discussion with your peers. This is a great way to collaborate on an issue you have, or even share lessons learned or successes from your own entity with your peers.
Requests for proposals in many ways are negotiations. When we buy a car or house, we sometimes use offers snd counteroffers. In RFPs, the bargaining is a bit more structured. The term “proposal revision” is used, sometimes “best and final offer.” Join us to discuss why the practice is used, a few cautions, the downsides of not permitting proposal revisions, and some varying practices among colleagues.
NIGP's create your own session concept is back for Winter VCON! We want to hear from you! We have reserved six session spaces, an hour each, for attendees of Winter VCON to create their own sessions. If you have a topic of interest, sign up and we will advertise the session on your behalf, then on the day of the session you will lead a discussion with your peers. This is a great way to collaborate on an issue you have, or even share lessons learned or successes from your own entity with your peers.
In today’s ever changing workplace, including workforce development as part of your strategic focus is more important than ever. Join NIGP’s Impact Circle for a panel discussion as they explore the importance of workforce development and what it means to the procurement profession, what agencies are doing to address this area, and how NIGP’s Pathways program can help meet these needs.
One of the greatest lies ever told is "one size fits all". The phrase originated from ready-to-wear clothing, and somehow found its way into leadership. “One size fits all" is a lie in clothing, and an even bigger untruth when it comes to leading! This engaging session emphasizes the importance of adopting a more personalized approach to leading. By employing diverse approaches to more effectively lead a diverse workforce, leaders get to know who they lead & how best to lead them, in an effort to increase both efficiency and impact!
Historically, employees have worked at an assigned location. However, it is becoming increasingly common for employees to work remotely and some do it routinely - perhaps performing their functions on-the-fly such as first responders and home health care; interacting with clients at the client’s site; or, while waiting for a plane, train or other transport. We’ve all experienced the Covid-19 phenomenon that saw countless employees redeployed to an alternate work site or home office. The traditional office environment is changing and the ability to provide leadership to employees who work remotely, whatever the reason, is now a critical skill.
Whether remote work is routine or the response to an emergency situation, employees still require leadership and management. Join us to review and discuss some best practices that support leadership of employees when working remotely, as well as some self-care tips for both leaders and staff.
At the end of 2020, we traveled down a rabbit hole where we met many fascinating procurement characters, we had a tea party, and of course, had great conversations about how COVID-19 disrupted operations in their procurement kingdoms and how they planned to take on 2021 with confidence.
Or at least that’s how we wish we obtained the information. Since all non-essential travel is currently banned (even into rabbit holes) we had to do a good old-fashioned survey. In this session, we’ll walk you through the results of that survey, and discuss how your peers’ responses line up with predictions and forecasted trends from government analysts and experts.
Join us to find out how your peers responded to questions such as:
Max Langenkamp understands the challenges faced when looking to create a JEDI mindset within an organization. Serving as the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer & Vice President - Human Resources at Cintas, Max has led multiple initiatives around D&I and in this session he will be sharing his expertise, lessons learned and success stories from his work over the last 15+ years in this space. Max will be joined by Rick Grimm for a live discussion, where attendees will also have the opportunity to engage and ask questions.
Despite the challenges and stress of 2020, government procurement professionals have performed outstanding and heroic work.
Join this dynamic discussion and discover some Best Practices for managing business change and making changes to our approaches in order to help successfully maintain our Life *Balance. Change Management in the sense that we successfully make changes to better cope with current restricted work environments and a variety of unexpected impacts from emergency situations on our Life * Balance.
Learning Objectives
- Define current challenges and identify successes that you have achieved
- How to handle competing priorities and unexpected Life * Balance impact
- Short review of Best Practices procurement processes to help focus on available resources
- What changes will you make to increase your successes and to help improve your Life * Balance?
Since March of 2020, all Procurement organizations had to quickly figure out how to go from conducting business in person to providing services virtually to our internal staff members and customers and our suppliers.
During this time, agencies have hired new staff members, having to onboard and train them in a virtual environment. Or perhaps you have accepted a new position during this time, and have found yourself struggling to immerse yourself in a new team and culture that you only get to interact with from a remote setting.
Throughout it all, we have had to learn new ways of maintaining our professionalism and engaging our team members.
In this session, this dynamic duo discusses the challenges, opportunities, and stumbling blocks discovered while training in a remote environment from both the trainer and trainee perspective.
Join NIGP’s VCON Speakers LIVE to take a deeper dive on each of the topics presented during VCON. Bring your current challenges and questions and discuss with our experts!
Todd Slater, PhD. is the Chief Content Officer for NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement. He has over twenty years of experience transforming global learning programs using technology and innovative instructional methods. Todd holds a bachelor’s degree in telecommunications from Michigan State University, a master’s degree in instructional design from the University of Central Florida, and a doctorate in adult education from Capella University. He also sits on several industry boards and speaks in both domestic and international settings.
Richard currently serves the NIGP membership as an instructor, and frequent NSite participant including through his "Legally Speaking" posts. Richard is the author of the updated NIGP "Legal Aspects" text and "Seeing Excellence: Learning from Great Procurement Teams" (Hugo House Publishing, 2013). He provided procurement leadership or legal counsel in the Military, and on federal and state levels. He served as general counsel to the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) ValuePoint from 2013 to 2018.
Tara Acton, CPPB, began her procurement career in September 2009 as an entry-level Procurement Officer with Mohave County. In October 2016, she left her role as the Senior Procurement Officer for Mohave County to pursue new opportunities with the City of Tucson. Tara ended her City of Tucson employment serving as a Principal Contract Officer, leading a team of professionals in a satellite office. In June of 2020, Tara returned to Mohave County accepting a position as the Director of Procurement and Central Services.
Tara is an active leader in NIGP. She served as the President of NIGP’s Grand Canyon Chapter from July 2015 through June 2017. She also served on several committees with NIGP’s Copper Chapter between October 2016 and May 2020. At the Institute level, Tara has served on multiple committees and task forces since 2015. She was elected to the Member Council in 2017. In February 2020 she was elected as the Chair Elect for the Council. Shortly after becoming Chair-Elect, the Council’s Chair was appointment to the Governing Board, so Tara quickly ascended to Chair and has been serving in that role since February 2020.
2019 was a year of professional recognition for Tara. She was recognized as the Copper Chapter’s 2019 Buyer of the Year, NIGP’s Young Professional for 2019, and she received the City of Tucson’s Business Services Department “Keys to Success” Award for her contributions to the City of Tucson as well as the work she has done on behalf of the profession.
Jackie Martin is a professional trainer, speaker, and non-profit founder with a passion for equipping professionals all over the world with the change resiliency, communication, and leadership skills needed in the workplace.
For more than 25 years Jackie has been providing powerful, energetic, training to help individuals and leaders understand the Change Cycle and better adapt to the changing workplace. Just like all skills, Jackie believes it takes intention and practice to learn to think, behave, and lead through these crazy changing times!
These past few months Jackie has walked her talk by pivoting her business to virtual training and stayed busy working with organizations across the globe helping them find ways to thrive in the ever-changing business environment.
Jackie is a John Maxwell Leadership Trainer, a certified Change Cycle Expert, an NLP Practitioner, NSA Professional Speaker and overall serial entrepreneur.
Arden began her career as a linguist working for the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. From there she continued in Japan as a translator, interpreter, educator and procurement professional for various Japanese corporations including Murakami Ongaku Jimusho and Canon Corporation. She currently handles complex procurements relating to IT as well as general goods and services for the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (VA ABC).
Arden holds a bachelor’s degree in Linguistics and Japanese from Boston University, a Master of Science in Environmental Management and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland, but her first love is music. Outside of work, Arden is heavily involved in local music organizations ranging from old-time Americana and bluegrass to Classical and Baroque. If you have ever travelled to destinations within Virginia’s Historic Triangle (Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown, VA), you may see her in period costume playing the fiddle or banjo at taverns, museums, and theaters. She is also the proud mother of two teenage boys who share her love of music and stringed instruments.
Marcheta E. Gillespie, FNIGP, CPPO, CPPB, C.P.M., CPM, is a dynamic speaker, trainer, consultant and experienced leader with 29 years in the procurement profession. As the former Director of the City of Tucson's Department of Procurement, Marcheta had over 27 years of experience in one of the country's largest, most highly acclaimed procurement organizations. Retired from government service, Marcheta now shares her extensive experience and expertise with public and private industry through numerous roles in the industry. In January 2020, Marcheta became the NIGP Consulting Program Manager working with Periscope Holdings, Inc (the managing corporation for the NIGP Consulting Program). Marcheta also provides extensive training and public speaking in the profession through her business, MG Procurement Consulting, LLC. As a passionate advocate for the procurement profession, Marcheta possesses a broad and deep range of expertise in numerous areas of public procurement best practices, professional development and leadership. Marcheta is the 2019 Albert H Hall recipient and the 2017 Distinguished Service Award recipient, the highest and second highest honors bestowed upon individuals by NIGP in the public procurement profession. Marcheta is a former Chair of the UPPCC Governing Board, was the 2013- 2014 President of NIGP and served on the NIGP Board of Directors for 10 years.
For the last 19 years, Sharita has served the Commonwealth in a public procurement role. She began her procurement career as a Procurement Technician.
In her current role, she provides e-technical and procurement consulting services, develops and facilitates procurement training events, conducts procurement compliance reviews, and provides executive management recommendations of operational enhancements & efficiencies to assigned client entities. During her time with Virginia Department of General Services (DGS), she has held several advancing positions. Prior to joining DGS in 2010, she served in various procurement roles at the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.
Ms. Bryant is an advocate professionally and civically; she currently serves as the 2nd Past President of the Virginia Association of Governmental Purchasing (VAGP), and serves on the board of Directors for the Henrico County Council of PTAs.
Kate Rotella is the Purchasing Manager for the Capitol Region Education Council. She has significant experience as a public procurement professional. Currently she works for a regional education district. Prior to she oversaw and ran procurement departments for a municipality and a Higher Education Institution.
Kate is a State Representative serving Stonington and North Stonington’s 43rd district. She serves as a member of the Appropriations Committee, Education Committee, and Internship Committee.
She is the Legislative chair for the Purchasing Association of Connecticut. She is a member of the Purchasing Council for Capitol Region Council of Governments.
On the National level, Kate is a member of the National Institute of Government Purchasing where she occupies the role of Finance Chair, Treasurer and sits on the Governing Board.
She received her Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of New Haven and her Bachelor of Science in Economics/Finance from Eastern Connecticut State University.
Kate is a Certified Public Purchasing Officer (CPPO).
Brian Smith is the Purchasing Manager for Multnomah County, Oregon where he is responsible for the purchasing policies and practices of the County.
Brian's passion is increasing value by creating leverage on exciting projects. It wasn't enough to create a surplus program from scratch; he promoted the lessons learned and actively sought ways to include a diverse set of partners aimed at meeting the needs of multiple public agencies with a coherent system. Whether engaging with internal clients or collaborating with other public agencies, he doggedly pursues innovation in the public sphere and creates greater value for taxpayers.
Brian is an NIGP Chapter Ambassador and supported the establishment of the Ambassador Program as Chair during its initial two years. He was NIGP's 2013 Professional Manager of the Year, and is an active member of two local chapters: Columbia Chapter and OPPA.
Brian Garrity is in his 22nd year in public procurement and is currently the Director of Procurement for the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District.
Brian holds professional designations of Certified Professional in Supply Management, Certified Purchasing Manager and Certified Professional Public Buyer, and is currently serving his 12th term on the Board of Directors for the National Procurement Institute. This is Brian’s 10th year on the AEP Committee and just completed his 6th year serving as AEP Officer.
Prior to moving to California, Brian spent 16 years in municipal procurement with the City of Tucson and the Town of Oro Valley in Arizona. Oro Valley holds the distinction of being the first ever one-person procurement department to receive the AEP award.
Brian happily resides in the wine country of northern California and is a proud husband and father of four children. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona where he was a Dean’s List scholar and member of the UofA Rugby Team.
Michael Bevis is a thought leader with 30+ years procurement experience and is the Chief Procurement Officer for the City of Norfolk, Virginia, where he is charged with integrating business, technology, operations and budgeting goals to further the City’s commitment to grow Norfolk’s economy and adopt programs that build a solid foundation for partnering with the business community.
Michael is passionate in his support of fellow professionals. He the immediate past Chairman of the Governing Board of NIGP; represents the International Federation of Purchasing and Supply Management on the Global Standards Board and is the Chair of the Center for Job Order Contracting Excellence.
Michael has presented papers and taught throughout North America, Latin America and Europe and served as an Adjunct Professor at Old Dominion University, University of Maryland and DePaul University. Michael’s professionalism has been recognized by NIGP (Distinguished Service Award, Pareto Award of Excellence, Manager of the Year, OA4 awards), IFPSM (the Lewis Spangler Award).
Michael is a graduate of Georgetown University Law School, Lincoln Memorial University and completed post graduate studies at North Central College and Northern Illinois University. He holds several professional certifications including the NIGP-CPP, CPPO, CPSM and lifetime CPM.
As DC Water’s Director of Compliance and Development, Korey Gray leads the Authority’s supplier diversity program. With over 15 years of experience in the field of supplier diversity and inclusion, Korey is never satisfied with the status quo. His relentless pursuit of improved diversity and inclusion practices, demonstrates Korey’s leadership in advancing DC Water’s innovative approach to building relationships with diverse suppliers in every aspect of its procurement program.
Under Korey’s leadership and with the support of the Chief Executive Officer and General Manager (CEO/GM), DC Water’s Board of Directors recently approved a major overhaul of its Business Development Plan. The Board’s approval was the culmination of two years developing a foundation that will foster a new standard of doing business with DC Water. To ensure the transparency of this process, Korey led an ambitious public engagement process that involved listening sessions with the community and the receipt of recommendations from DC Water staff, diverse suppliers, prime contractors, government agencies and advocacy organizations.
In addition to his role as Director of Compliance and Development, Korey is also designated as DC Water’s Business Development Plan Liaison. The designation of a liaison for this program assures the diverse supplier community that the implementation and accountability measures of the Business Development Plan are unencumbered and increases the program’s visibility within DC Water and among its industry peers.
Also among his key achievements, Korey successfully created and launched DC Water’s Apprenticeship Program. In September 2019, fourteen (14) District residents were enrolled in the multi-trade training program that focuses on five (5) high demand career pathways: Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC); Plumbing; Quality Assurance (Fleet Maintenance); Water Utility Services; and Wastewater Operator.
As an industry leader in the water utility industry, Korey is highly sought out for his strategic insight and successful innovative business practices. Korey is a native Washingtonian and a proud Howard University alumnus. He enjoys spending quality time with his family and engaging in robust conversations regarding current and historical news events.
Ciatta Claggett is a Project Manager at S&J Service, Inc.; an MBE subcontracting company in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area that specializes in underground utility construction. Ms. Claggett has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business in Philadelphia, PA. With Drexel's cooperative education program, Ms. Claggett gained long-term internship experience within the construction industry. She has also obtained her LEED Green Associate accreditation, and is in the process of gaining her Project Management Professional certification.
Professionally, Ciatta has worked on multiple projects in the District of Columbia, specifically with DC Water ranging between $1 to $3 Million per year in revenue. Some of these projects include the Lead Service Line Replacement Program, and Sanitary Sewer Lateral and Main Repairs and Replacements.
S&J Service, Inc. provides a multitude of full-scale utilities and infrastructure services throughout DC, Maryland, and Virginia including storm drain, sanitary sewer, water mainline, structural services, surface restoration, manhole rehabilitation, and plumbing. As PM, Ms. Claggett coordinates with site superintendents and foremen to oversee the daily activities of multiple crews. She is responsible for communicating with DC homeowners to relay job scopes of work and facilitate private side contracts, documentation, and payments.
Richard currently serves the NIGP membership as an instructor, and frequent NSite participant including through his "Legally Speaking" posts. Richard is the author of the updated NIGP "Legal Aspects" text and "Seeing Excellence: Learning from Great Procurement Teams" (Hugo House Publishing, 2013). He provided procurement leadership or legal counsel in the Military, and on federal and state levels. He served as general counsel to the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) ValuePoint from 2013 to 2018.
Marcheta E. Gillespie, FNIGP, CPPO, CPPB, C.P.M., CPM, is a dynamic speaker, trainer, consultant and experienced leader with 29 years in the procurement profession. As the former Director of the City of Tucson's Department of Procurement, Marcheta had over 27 years of experience in one of the country's largest, most highly acclaimed procurement organizations. Retired from government service, Marcheta now shares her extensive experience and expertise with public and private industry through numerous roles in the industry. In January 2020, Marcheta became the NIGP Consulting Program Manager working with Periscope Holdings, Inc (the managing corporation for the NIGP Consulting Program). Marcheta also provides extensive training and public speaking in the profession through her business, MG Procurement Consulting, LLC. As a passionate advocate for the procurement profession, Marcheta possesses a broad and deep range of expertise in numerous areas of public procurement best practices, professional development and leadership. Marcheta is the 2019 Albert H Hall recipient and the 2017 Distinguished Service Award recipient, the highest and second highest honors bestowed upon individuals by NIGP in the public procurement profession. Marcheta is a former Chair of the UPPCC Governing Board, was the 2013- 2014 President of NIGP and served on the NIGP Board of Directors for 10 years.
Mr. Glatz has served in the field of public procurement for over 40 years, since 1978, and has been the Purchasing and Contracts Manager for the City of Tamarac, Florida since September of 2003. Prior to that date, Mr. Glatz held various public procurement positions with municipalities in Illinois, as well as 15 years with the State of Illinois. Mr. Glatz served in various volunteer capacities with NIGP - The Institute for Public Procurement and its various affiliated chapters. Mr. Glatz served on the NIGP Governing Board for 10 years and served as the Chair of the Governing Board from July 2015 through June 2016. Prior to that, Mr. Glatz was a past President of both the Southeast Florida Chapter of NIGP from 2006 to 2007 and the Illinois Association of Public Procurement Officials (IAPPO) from 1998 to 2003. Mr. Glatz was the recipient of both the 2007 NIGP Professional Manager of the Year Award and the 2019 NIGP Anne Deatherage Award for Meritorious Service. Mr. Glatz has also received the 2018 FAPPO Above and Beyond Award and the 2020 FAPPO George H. Wolf Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Glatz is a former adjunct faculty member at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida, where he taught courses related to public procurement, and has conducted numerous training sessions for NIGP since 1995, where he attained the designation of Master Instructor.
Chhunny Chhean is the City of Dallas’ Director of Procurement Services, which is recognized by NIGP as an outstanding agency. Procurement Services handles complex technology, human services, and professional services contracts and has launched an innovative contract management training program. Prior to this role, Chhunny served as an assistant city attorney advising the City on a variety of subjects, including environmental matters, pensions, ethics, and elections. She is a graduate of California State University, Long Beach and University of California, Berkeley School of Law.
Jack Pellegrino, CPCM is the Director of the Department of Purchasing & Contracting for the County of San Diego, CA. Jack has over 39 years of Government contracting and procurement experience leading diverse teams of contracting, procurement, and pricing staff in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining the County as the Director of Purchasing and Contracting in 2013, Jack held executive contracting and procurement positions in the private sector doing business with government customers. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the California Association of Public Procurement Officials (CAPPO); Certification Commission and Legislative & Position Committee member for The Institute for Public Procurement (NIGP); and Board of Advisors for the National Contract Management Association (NCMA). Jack is a Certified Professional Contracts Manager (CPCM) and NCMA Fellow. He is also an instructor for the San Diego State University (SDSU) Extension Contracts Program and the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Institute for Excellence in County Government.
Ms. Olzinger joined the Office of Management and Budget as the Assistant Director-Procurement Manager in September 2015. She is responsible for managing and coordinating the City’s procurement process, as well as overseeing the preparation and evaluation of bid proposals, selection of contractors and negotiation of contracts. Ms. Olzinger determines the procurement strategy for obtaining goods and services in the most effective and efficient manner; develops and enforces “best practice” policies and procedures to certify compliance with City Code; and ensures procurement practices are consistent, open and designed to encourage maximum competition and best value procurements. Ms. Olzinger and her team analyze the city-wide and departmental spending to identify opportunities to reduce costs and/or procure goods and services more efficiently and effectively to provide the best overall value to the City.
Ms. Olzinger is currently serving as the Second Vice President for the Pennsylvania Public Purchasing Association (PAPPA) for the 2020-2021 calendar year. She previously served as the PAPPA Board Secretary for the 2018-2019 term. She is also serving for a second term on National Institute of Government Purchasing (NIGP) Impact Circle, a task force created by NIGP to help them further develop their educational programs, promote workforce development and help reduce the barriers to obtain professional procurement certifications. In addition, the task force seeks to assist NIGP in tailoring their offerings to better prepare procurement staff across the Country to handle the varied “smart” technologies and more technically complex IOT procurements that Cities are looking to implement.
Ms. Olzinger served as Acting Director of the Office of Management & Budget from September 2018 – September 2019. In addition to her primary duties as Assistant Director, Ms. Olzinger also oversaw all areas of the Department including Operating Budget, Capital Budget & Asset Management, Fleet, Grants and the administration of the Community Development Block Grant program.
Prior to joining the City, she served as the Manager of Procurement Operations at Education Management, LLC, where she managed a team of buyers supporting the purchasing process for 100+ EDMC locations.
T. Suzette Moore is a highly experienced and successful leader with over 30 years in public sector procurement management. She is currently the Vice President & Chief Procurement Officer for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), the second largest heavy rail transit agency in the United States. Prior to her appointment as Vice President & Chief Procurement Officer for WMATA, Ms. Moore was appointed Assistant Secretary for Procurement & Logistics for the State of Maryland Department of General Services. She reported to a cabinet level Secretary and advised all levels of state government concerning procurement laws, regulations and policy. Preceding her appointment as Assistant Secretary, she served as the Chief Procurement Officer for the Maryland Aviation Administration where she directed and supervised the Office of Procurement, responsible for large, complex and multi-year contracts for BWI Airport.
In each of these positions, Ms. Moore has demonstrated enthusiastic leadership, a positive attitude, and exceptional customer focus. Her can-do spirit and interest in continuous improvement have made positive impacts in every organization she has served. Under the leadership of Ms. Moore, WMATA received the National Procurement Institute Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award in 2019 and 2020.
Ms. Moore carries that same passion and commitment in her volunteer responsibilities as demonstrated by her involvement with Maryland Public Purchasing Association (MPPA) and National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP). As a member of MPPA, she has held the positions of Director, Vice President, President and Immediate Past President. For NIGP, Ms. Moore currently serves on the Talent Council and is a member of the Impact Circle.
She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Legal Studies from the University of Maryland and holds both the CPPO and CPPB designation from the Universal Public Purchasing Certification Council.
Todd Slater, PhD. is the Chief Content Officer for NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement. He has over twenty years of experience transforming global learning programs using technology and innovative instructional methods. Todd holds a bachelor’s degree in telecommunications from Michigan State University, a master’s degree in instructional design from the University of Central Florida, and a doctorate in adult education from Capella University. He also sits on several industry boards and speaks in both domestic and international settings.
With over 30 years of public procurement experience at the county, state department, and state-wide levels, Leamer is currently the Senior Buyer with Spokane County in Washington. Victor earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast Journalism from Western Washington University (Bellingham, WA) in 1985 and the Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) designation in 2009. Victor teaches Developing and Managing Requests for Proposals (in-person/online) and Sourcing in the Public Sector and the Core Certificate: Foundations in Strategy and Policy for NIGP (virtual) and has presented NIGP webinars on protests, evaluating responsiveness in bids, and contract price adjustments. Victor also serves on NIGP's Content Management Committee (formerly Knowledge Management Committee) since 2015 and is a founding member/former Vice President of the Alaska/Hawaii Governmental Procurement Association NIGP Chapter.
Anthony D. Sparks is a speaker, content creator, and certified development coach who has impacted thousands of people around the globe!
Anthony is a native of Birmingham, AL and is a proud member of “The A-Team” with his wife Ashley, and sons Aidan (age 8) & Ashton (age 3). He’s a man of faith, family, and fun who believes that his purpose is to help others live a life of purpose on purpose!
Lynda Allair has over forty years of experience as a public procurement leader within the provincial, municipal and health care sectors in Ontario. She has served the Institute in numerous capacities, and her local Chapter and is a frequent Forum speaker and moderator. Lynda instructs public procurement classes for NIGP, the University of Guelph and others upon request, as well as providing consulting services through NIGP's Consulting program.
Barbara R. Johnson served for 38 years as a State, City and Airport Authority Procurement Leader. She serves the Institute members on many committees, task forces, and as a frequent Forum speaker and moderator. Barb instructs public procurement courses for the Institute (NIGP), the Ohio State University, and others upon request, as well as providing consulting services through NIGP's Consulting program.
Andrea Mindenhall is currently the Manager of Strategic Sourcing, Regional Municipality of Halton in Ontario. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, she is currently working and supervising her procurement team remotely. She brings her experiences with remote work and remote supervision and support of employees to this session. She has been an Executive Member of the Ontario Public Buyers Association for many years.
Anthony Berry leads the effort to help procurement teams understand how they can solve their business problems through technology. He is responsible for working with cross-functional teams to gain a technical understanding of Bonfire, build-out industry-specific demonstrations of the tool, and provide the sales team and prospects with meaningful materials and applicable use case scenarios within the Bonfire platform.
With a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Wilfred Laurier University, Anthony is passionate about collaborating with people, gaining insight into their day-to-day challenges, and helping procurement teams understand how their current processes can be enhanced with technology.
Max is the Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer for Cintas Corporation, a $7 billion-dollar business services company, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Max also serves as Vice President of Human Resources.
Max joined the Cintas Corporation in 2006 as in-house legal counsel. In this position Max managed labor & employment and litigation matters for the company. In January 2011, Cintas Max was promoted to Sr. Director of Human Resources and in 2014 to Vice President of Human Resources.
Max earned his Bachelor degree from The Ohio State University and his Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill School of Law. He is a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel, the Ohio State Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. Max also has served on the board of directors for a number of non-profit organizations such as the Urban League of Southwestern Ohio, Greater Cincinnati-Dayton Red Cross, the Community Action Agency Foundation of Hamilton County and the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance to name a few. In addition, Mr. Langenkamp was named by Law & Politics Magazine as one of Ohio’s “Rising Stars.” In 2018, Max received the Leader of Distinction Award and in 2019 received Chief Human Resource Officer of the year – For Profit - Enterprise from HRO Today Magazine.
Max currently resides in West Chester with his wife, Tonya and their two children.
Rick Grimm has served as NIGP’s Chief Executive Officer for 23 years.
Rick holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Miami and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Florida International University. He served county governments and public school districts for 23 years, including over 12 years in the management of the public procurement function, before joining the NIGP team in 1998.
As NIGP continues to develop, support and promote public procurement, Rick’s recent priorities have been the development of partnerships with universities and associations that represent the direct reports of the procurement function. To leverage these relationships and enhance NIGP’s role as a trusted advisor, Rick reorganized the NIGP team with a focus on content management and sustained membership growth. The Institute now offers certificate programs for professionals entering the workplace and for seasoned professionals who seek high-level skills on procurement specialties such as technology and construction.
Christine has been a procurement professional for over 25 years. Her experience includes 10 years corporate procurement, management, training, and change management for companies in the Washington, D.C. area.
Public procurement experience includes director-level and statewide experience at a wide variety of Colorado agencies, including Colorado State Patrol, University of Colorado, the Colorado Department of Human Services, and the State of Colorado - State Purchasing & Contracts Office.
As an NIGP Certified Instructor, she supports public entities with challenging, fun, and effective hands-on approaches to learning. She is an author for the 2020 revised NIGP textbook, Developing and Managing Requests for Proposals in the Public Sector.
Victoria Cortinas, NIGP-CPP, CPPO, CPPB, C.P.M, is currently (since October 2020) a Senior Procurement Specialist with Tucson Electric Power Company in Tucson, Arizona. Victoria has 24 years of Procurement experience working with the Town of Oro Valley, Arizona as their Chief Procurement Officer and with the City of Tucson, Arizona serving in various contracting and leadership roles culminating as a Procurement Administrator.
Victoria has vast experience contracting for design, construction and goods and services. In addition, she has been responsible for the management of procurement programs including contracting, contract administration, services, Accounts Payable, Small Business Enterprise (SBE) / Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) programs, pCard, and Davis Bacon Contract & Related Acts contract compliance.
Victoria has been a member of the Copper Chapter of NIGP and NIGP, the Institute since 1997 and is very passionate about the public procurement profession. She co-created Professional Buyer’s Day (2nd Wednesday in March) with Nathan Daou and is the recipient of the 2018 NIGP Manager of the Year, 2014 Copper Chapter of NIGP Manager of the Year and 2008 Copper Chapter of NIGP Buyer of the Year award. She served as an NIGP Area 9 Chapter Ambassador from 2015 – 2019 and is currently serving on the NIGP Member Council.
Nathan Daou, NIGP-CPP, CPPO, CPPB, C.P.M., A.P.P., is the Procurement Administrator for the City of Tucson, Arizona. Throughout his 19 years in the Procurement profession, Nathan has been an active member of the Copper Chapter of NIGP. Nathan is a strong believer in the value of professional certification and is an advocate for the elevation of the Procurement profession. In 2015, Nathan co-created “National Professional Buyer’s Day” with Victoria Cortinas to bring recognition to the people on the front lines of our profession. In 2019, Nathan was the recipient of NIGP’s Manager of the Year Award.
Nathan believes that the success of a Procurement operation is highly dependent on the strength of the Procurement Team. Nathan encourages his team to strive for excellence by pursuing professional development opportunities, striving for a high degree of competency and professionalism, bringing value to the agency, and being an active member of NIGP.
Nathan graduated from the University of Arizona in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree.
Members save valuable time and money by signing up for a virtual conference. Instead of sending one or two members of a procurement team to an out-of-town conference, agencies can send entire teams to a virtual conference. Thus teams can immediately implement what they have learned.
Another benefit of attending a virtual conference is that all NIGP members earn credits for attending a virtual conference. The number of credits received will vary depending on the duration of the conference and the number of tracks offered.
In addition to listening to world-class speakers, meeting other professionals, and earning learning credits, virtual conference participants can attend a virtual exhibit hall. The virtual exhibit hall showcases suppliers from all over North America who can solve the needs of procurement professionals with current and future projects.
Members save valuable time and money by signing up for a virtual conference. Instead of sending one or two members of a procurement team to an out-of-town conference, agencies can send entire teams to a virtual conference. Thus teams can immediately implement what they have learned.
Another benefit of attending a virtual conference is that all NIGP members earn credits for attending a virtual conference. The number of credits received will vary depending on the duration of the conference and the number of tracks offered.
In addition to listening to world-class speakers, meeting other professionals, and earning learning credits, virtual conference participants can attend a virtual exhibit hall. The virtual exhibit hall showcases suppliers from all over North America who can solve the needs of procurement professionals with current and future projects.