NIGP Spring Virtual Conference

Join thousands of your NIGP peers who have already taken part in one of our virtual conferences. This is your chance to get an enriching experience by learning something completely new or delving more deeply into a topic you’re already familiar with.

Virtual conferences provide all the benefits of a traditional conference, like engaging with peers and instructors in real-time and learning about timely and relevant issues that impact the profession. The best part, you get to do it all from the comfort of your desk.

NIGP VCON brings together the most sought-after public procurement practitioners and thought leaders who will share their perspectives and offer insights, tools and tactics to help you reach peak performance.

Past participants continually share the tremendous value of VCON—great content with relevant topics, robust contact hours, ability to expand networks—all at a lower price point with less time away from daily duties.

VCON Spring

June 3 & 4, 2020

9 Contact Hours

Continue your professional development journey today:

Access high-quality content to help guide your everyday decision-making
Gain clarity and greater awareness of the broader procurement landscape
Connect with peers, engage with presenters and get answers to all your burning questions in real-time

Member fee: $129 | Non-Member fee: $229
Group discounts available

Register Today

Group Registration

Session Schedule

June 3, 2020

Virtual Meeting Room 1

Time	Session	Speaker
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM	Transformational Change Starts from Within	Lourdes Coss, MPA, CPPO Lourdes Coss, MPA, CPPO, is the author of “Procurement Methods: Effective Techniques” and a certified John Maxwell Team Coach, Speaker, Teacher, and Trainer. She is an accomplished procurement professional with approximately 30 years of experience. Lourdes held executive level positions in major public organizations, such as the 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 and training. Lourdes led transformative changes in various agencies leading to savings in excess of $100 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, and Spirit of NIGP. Lourdes also held positions on various Boards, including NIGP. In addition to graduating magna cum laude from the University of Puerto Rico and receiving her master’s in public administration from Florida State University, Lourdes is a UPPCC Certified Public Purchasing Officer.
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM	Break
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM	Effective Decision Making	Richard Pennington, CPPO, J.D., LL.M. From 2013 to 2018, Richard Pennington was general counsel to NASPO ValuePoint, a nonprofit that assists state governments with cooperative procurements. Richard started his Air Force career as a B-52 pilot and later served as a judge advocate specializing in federal government contracting. At the time of his Air Force retirement, he was Chief of the Air Force Commercial Litigation Division. He then served as assistant attorney general for the State of Colorado and later practiced government contract law with McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP. He is a former director of the Colorado Division of Finance and Procurement and State Purchasing Director. Richard’s columns and articles appear in NIGP’s Government Procurement magazine and the National Contract Management Association’s publication, Contract Management magazine. He is the author of Seeing Excellence: Learning from Great Procurement Teams.
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM	Break
4:00 PM- 5:00 PM	You Just Buy Stuff Right? Debunking the Mystery of Procurement & Sharing the Real Value You Bring to Your Organization	Stacy Lynn Adams, CPPB Stacy Adams, CPPB, is the Deputy State Procurement Officer for the State of South Carolina, Division of Procurement Services managing the State Term Contracting Teams. With nearly 20 years of experience her skills represent governmental purchasing at the county, state agency and state-wide levels. Stacy is a leader who is actively involved in content builds for the new NIGP Pathways program. She instructs courses as a NIGP Certified Instructor. Stacy is also an instructor for courses on behalf of the South Carolina State Fiscal Accountability Authority elping procurement professionals throughout the state learn various aspects of the profession. Stacy’s desire to “give back” to the profession she so dearly loves continues in her service to NIGP and its local Chapter, SCAGPO. As an active member of both, she serves on many committees and has been awarded Buyer of the Year for 2014 and was the recipient of the B.D. Bland Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Stacy currently serves on NIGP’s Talent Council and as its liaison to the Pipeline and Placement Committee and serves SCAGPO on the Past President’s Council. Stacy is married to the amazingly charming and wonderful Charlie Adams. The two share 4 children and 3 wonderful grandchildren. They currently reside in Blythewood, SC. Stacy is a graduate of Southern Wesleyan University with a degree in Business Administration. & Victor Leamer, CPPB Victor Leamer is currently the Senior Buyer with Spokane County in Washington previously working 30 years with the State of Alaska. He has presented NIGP webinars on protests and contract price adjustments and leads the online course Developing and Managing Request for Proposals. Victor has a bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism from Western Washington University (Bellingham, WA). Victor also serves on NIGP's Content Management Committee.

Virtual Meeting Room 2

Time	Session	Speaker
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM	Sustainable Procurement in U.S. Local Governments Public procurement is an essential function of local governments. As such, it is often used as amajor policy tool to achieve goals and desirable outcomes for public organizations, and in themore recent socio-political environments, the procurement function has been employed toachieve sustainability in environmental, social, and economic aspects of communities. Thispresentation demonstrates current trends in sustainable procurement in local governments acrossNorth America, particularly within the United States. Specifically, it assesses supplier diversityand green procurement as major components of sustainable procurement initiatives. Based onsurvey responses, this presentation describes whether organizations participate in supplierdiversity and green procurement, and also details the extent to which these policies areimplemented. Additional aspects related to perceived challenges to policy implementation areoutlined as well.	Ana-Maria Dimand Ana-Maria Dimand is a doctoral candidate in the Public Affairs Ph.D. program at FIU. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (L.L.B) from the Romanian-American University, Bucharest, Romania. She worked as a legal advisor for a central government organization in Bucharest, Romania, specializing in public procurement. After serving as the Head of the Public Procurement office, she went on to pursue a Ph.D. Degree in public affairs at FIU. Her dissertation explores the intersection of public procurement, environmental policy and inter-government collaboration. She has also conducted research related to sustainability, local government innovation and organizational behavior. Ana is proficient in English, Spanish, Italian, French and Romanian & Evelyn Rodriguez Evelyn Trammell is a fourth-year doctoral candidate in Public Affairs at Florida International University (FIU). Her research focuses on issues of socio-economic equity in public finance and procurement. Her teaching credits include Administrative Leadership and Behavior. In addition, she has 7 years of practitioner experience working in local government with the City of Sunny Isles Beach, in the areas of finance, procurement, and general administration. Evelyn earned a Master in Public Administration from FIU and a Certificate in Public Procurement from Florida Atlantic University. She currently serves as the Chair of American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) Section on Procurement & Contract Management and is a current member of the Pi Alpha Alpha Honor Society at Florida FIU, ASPA’s national ASPA’s South Florida Chapters, National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP), and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA).
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM	Break
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM	New NIGP Global Best Practice: Market Research Process: Research, Analysis, and Intelligence	Lisa Frank Lisa Frank joined NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement in December 2013. One year later, she was promoted to the position of Global Practices Manager and now also manages NIGP’s accreditation program. Lisa collaborates with subject matter experts, including procurement professionals, academics, and suppliers to develop useful guidance on public procurement topics. Since its 2018 February/March issue, Government Procurement Magazine has been publishing Lisa’s articles on topics ranging from her first article Language Matters to the current article Personality Matters: The DISC Method. Prior to joining NIGP, Lisa managed the University Lecture Series at Carnegie Mellon University, where she earned her Master of Public Management. Recently, she earned certification as Maxwell Method DISC Consultant. She received her undergraduate degree from Indiana University in cello performance, and now lives in Ashland, Oregon, where she plays cello with the Rogue Valley Symphony.
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM	Break
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM	Move to Meeting Room 1 for Session: You Just Buy Stuff Right? Debunking the Mystery of Procurement & Sharing the Real Value You Bring to Your Organization

June 4, 2020

Virtual Meeting Room 1

Time	Session	Speaker
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM	Procurement Planning & Execution for Lifecycle Asset Management	Beth Dooley, CPPO, CPPB
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM	Break
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM	Procurement and Politics: Navigating the Political Environment Explore the positive and negative, the realities and vagaries of the interactions between procurement professionals and the political environment. We will draw on personal experiences working with senior executives and elected officials in the Federal Government, the City of Chicago and several smaller communities to identify common themes and approaches to peaceful and productive coexistence with Politicians and effective participation in and engagement with our communities.	Mike Bevis, JD, CPPO, CPSM, C.P.M

Virtual Meeting Room 2

Time	Session	Speaker
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM	Trade Agreements 101	Lynda Allair, CPPO Lynda Allair, CPPO has almost thirty years experience in procurement within a variety of agencies. Lynda is a Project Lead with the BPS Supply Chain Secretariat of the Ontario Ministry of Finance, Treasury Board Office. The Secretariat manages the OntarioBuys program which provides funding and advice to the province’s broader public sector (BPS) – currently principally, hospitals, school boards, colleges and universities - to help them modernize their supply chains and other back-office processes Prior to returning to the Ontario government, Lynda was Procurement Services Manager for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) - Canada’s largest mental health hospital - in Toronto, where she was responsible for all facets of the hospital's procurement functions. She was also a lead member for a number of working groups involved in post-merger amalgamation of functional groups, implementation of new initiatives and, more recently, the hospital’s Site Redevelopment. Before joining CAMH, Lynda was Purchasing Agent for the Toronto Public Library, responsible for procurement of complex acquisitions and major projects, drafting policies and procedures and acting in an advisory capacity to senior staff and end-users. Prior to that she was Purchasing Officer for the Centre of Forensic Sciences (Ontario's forensic sciences laboratory), a department of the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, responsible for all materials management functions, with emphasis on the acquisition and maintenance of scientific and computer equipment, acquisition and importation of sensitive and restricted materials, and control of all fixed assets. Lynda is currently a Director for the Canadian Public Procurement Council, a member of the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing’s Finance Committee (formerly Education) and an NIGP instructor, and a Past President of the Ontario Public Buyers Association;.
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM	Break
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM	Preparing for the Recession: Fiscal First Aid Strategies for the Procurement Office	Mike Mucha Mike Mucha joined GFOA in 2006 and is now GFOA's Deputy Executive Director and the Director of the Research and Consulting Center. In this role, Mike oversees GFOA consulting projects, research activities, the Government Finance Review, planning for GFOA training and conference, the GFOA website, and other strategic initiatives for GFOA. Mike also leads GFOA’s consulting practice and focuses on providing guidance to local governments on how to use technology more effectively, improve business processes and administrative practices, and implement best practices in financial management. Mike has managed projects for both large and small governments, regularly speaks at GFOA training events, and has written numerous articles on public sector enterprise technology applications, budgeting, performance management, and strategic planning.

NIGP Receives Iacet Innovation of the Year Award

NIGP is the recipient of the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) 2019 Innovation of the Year Award for Learner Technology Integration for our innovative approach to engaging member with accredited content through VCON.