Director - DE&I

Establish and grow the Supplier Diversity team, in accordance with internal and external policies and procedures; provide client support, direction, guidance, and overall leadership for projects and programs, nationally.

New York City Procurement Policy Board

Brought onboard as part of DDC's leadership team to advance the agency's M/WBE initiatives in alignment with New York City's Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) Program. This includes leading the agency's effort to create contract opportunities and build capacity for M/WBEs, overseeing agency-specific M/WBE processes and coordinating with oversight agencies in order to monitor and ensure compliance with M/WBE regulations, working closely with internal and external stakeholders to identify creative ways to improve outcomes for M/WBEs, and implementing new ideas that ultimately address disparities in contracting that support the principals of economic democracy.Additionally, support economic development with workforce programs and initiatives that lead to community engagement and local hiring that further strengthens New York City neighborhoods.Advancing these initiatives further, I engage with private partners, ranging from the Minority Supplier Development Council to Ernest and Young, and various union and comminity organizations to share best practices and identify additional opportunities for small business advancement.

Joined the team to help address the disparity in contracts awarded to specific ethnic and gender groups and their overall representation in City contracting, having the responsibility for oversight, the development of policies and procedures, interagency coordination, and accountability for the City’s M/WBE Program.As part of my duties, I played a key role in developing and guiding work related to the de Blasio Administration’s M/WBE initiative, overseeing policy implementation, monitoring, and reporting of major M/WBE project initiatives. Additionally, providing leadership and guidance on M/WBE cross-agency collaboration.Advancing these initiatives further, I engage with private partners, ranging from the Minority Supplier Development Council to Ernest and Young, and various union and comminity organizations to share best practices and identify additional opportunities for small business advancement.

Promoted to enhance the agency's program activities for small businesses, with a focus on minority and women-owned businesses, supporting efforts around equity and diversity, and developing policies and procedures for efficient operations as it relates to procurement and contracting- achieved the highest rates of M/WBE performance for the agency and helped to change the culture as it relates to minority and women-owned business utilization.• Continued administering the agency’s minority and women-owned business (M/WBE) program activities; communicate the Mayor’s visions for OneNYC to develop, execute, and manage an agency-wide program and increase M/WBE utilization • Monitor agency performance and prepare reports for executive level review; guide activities to improve performance • Analyze the effectiveness of agency policies on performance and make recommendations to executive staff• Participate in the agency's internal reform process, 'Race to Justice', to advance racial equity and social justice across all programs, policies, practices, and operations.• Manage key components of the contracting process; ensure that contractors are in compliance with related requirements; monitor vendor submissions for completeness and approve the use of vendors on various types of contracts• Develop and maintain the agency’s annual Procurement Plan; serve as the agency’s primary liaison to the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services, Office of Labor Relations, and the Law Department on issues related to procurement• Manage staff and work closely with program managers and vendors to ensure compliance with the Project Labor Agreement and prevailing wage requirements, HIRE NYC contractual commitments, vendor integrity requirements, and housing compliance reviews for vendor responsibility• Coordinate special networking and outreach events to facilitate vendor-buyer connections; work closely with related agencies to advance various procurement policies

Selected to develop, manage, and oversee the agency's compliance activities and processes- this includes developing and administering the agency's minority and women-owned business enterprise (M/WBE) program initiatives to identify contract opportunities and increase utilization; developing the agency's annual procurement plan, supervising the Vendor Integrity unit; overseeing Project Labor Agreement and HireNYC contractual commitments; managing the subcontractor approval process to ensure all contractors are accounted for and in good standing for compliance.Additionally, serve as a prime liaison with the Mayor's Office of Contract Services, the Department of Small Business Services, the Law Department, and other related entities; conduct various training sessions, coordinate networking events, and advise executive staff on performance.

Selected to oversee a unit that provides various support services to City agencies and prime contractors with the goal of connecting over 4000 small businesses with contract opportunities in the public and private sector. Additionally, training programs are developed to educate small businesses and buyers on procurement processes, detailed analysis is used to identify specific industry trends, and networking and matchmaking events are conducted frequently to create forums where businesses can interact directly with City buyers.

Served as the primary liaison between various stakeholders in the public and private sectors to build strong relationships and share important information about the City's M/WBE Program and other related supplier diversity and capacity building programs. • Provided direct assistance to city agencies through the use of detailed analysis to understand spending trends, and created and implemented procedures that increase the use of small minority and women owned businesses• Collected, analyzed, and monitored vendor information with the use of various databases to identify and match vendors to contract opportunities• Directed audit processes to ensure City government contracts are in compliance with the requirements of the local law• Managed the support and training of over 500 M/WBE Contracting Officers to drive agency performance and adoption of best practices in the effort to increase the utilization of M/WBEs

Monitored multi-million dollar construction projects and managed field inspection processes to ensure that construction contractors were in compliance with EEO programs and rules and regulations related to NYC Executive Order 50 and federal government regulation 11246.• Redesigned the Construction Monitoring Program to improve enforcement efforts; Assisted construction contractors to ensure compliance with various diversity programs; developed corrective action plans uniquely designed to promote effective equal employment opportunity policies, practices, procedures, and good faith effort strategies; created an outlet through an interview process for construction trade workers to express their issues and concerns• Produced reports on outcomes to senior management, and developed strategies to facilitate programmatic initiatives• Performed field inspections and investigations on multi-million dollar public and private sector construction jobs throughout the five boroughs to ensure compliance with the requirements of Executive order 50 and Executive Order 11246, and observed their workforce to track consistency with the data submitted in employment reports• Managed research studies of union and nonunion participants in the NYC construction industry, which identify utilization, growth, and retention of various ethnic and gender groups

New York City's M/WBE Program is administered to increase the numbered of certified minority and woman owned firms, and ultimately connect these firms to contract opportunities and capacity building programs.As a Certification Analyst, I thoroughly reviewed certification applications and various business documents for consistency, and used submitted information to determine eligibilty under the M/WBE Program. Some responsibilities included auditing, training, analysis, and the facilitation of networking events.