2022

Since 2001, Angela has worked in some aspect of procurement for Antelope Valley Community College District. She started in the District’s bookstore as an hourly employee and currently serves as Director of Purchasing & Contracts. She looks forward to the daily challenges of procurement and presenting innovative ways to make processes more fluid for her District. Her coworkers (and possibly the entire District) may say she’s a little obsessed with Halloween, but over the last 10 years and several decorating awards, even the most disenchanted look forward to her yearly production.

Angelic Davis, Director of Purchasing, Printing and Mail Services at Mt. San Antonio College, has over 20 years of experience in procurement, 15 years of which have spent in public procurement. Angelic has gained valuable experience and knowledge working for diverse agencies, including the City of San Bernardino Municipal Water Department, the City of Moreno Valley and most recently at Mt. San Antonio College. In addition to her vast experience, Angelic holds a Master of Public Administration, is a Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO), and has also obtained NIGP-CPP certification.

April Graham is the Executive Director, Contract, Procurement, and Risk Management Services for the Santa Clarita Community College District. She has over sixteen years’ of hands-on contract experience, including education, healthcare, and medical laboratory agreements. April is highly regarded by her colleagues for her can-do approach and takes special pride in helping others, especially when they have unique purchasing or contract needs. She oversees over $30 million in District Purchase Orders each year, and her department was recently awarded the 2021 Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award from the National Procurement Institute, which was 1 of only 12 higher education organizations in the United States and Canada to receive the award. She currently serves as an alternate Board member on the Statewide Association of Community Colleges (SWACC). She is the Vice Chair of the SWACC Claims & Coverage Committee, and she was recently appointed to the Schools Association For Excess Risk (“SAFER”) Board of Directors. She earned her Associate’s degree in Social Science at College of the Canyons, and then went on to graduate with honors from California State University, Dominguez Hills, where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Applied Studies, with a minor in Public Administration.

Ms. Zavian Co-Founded PlanetBids in 1998 along with her life and business partner, Alan Zavian, a Certified WBE and SBE California corporation, with the vision of streamlining the procurement and contracting processes of governmental agencies. As President, Ms. Zavian is primarily involved in strategic planning of its products and overall management of PlanetBids. With over 30 years of experience and knowledge in consulting with government, Ms. Zavian is a recognized leader in the eProcurement industry.

Today, PlanetBids is proud to provide its third-generation cloud-based best-in class and innovative suite of eProcurement modules known as the PB System™ to the public sector that are user friendly and cost effective with unique configurable characteristics. PlanetBids serves over 300 public agencies nationwide with over 400,000 unique vendors and contractors in its database.

Ms. Zavian holds a B.S. degree in Applied Mathematics, Computer Science and Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

BB Boynton is a Buyer at MiraCosta College. He holds a Master of Science in Physical Education from Azusa Pacific and has almost 15 years of procurement experience in both private and public sectors. In his 7 years with at MiraCosta, he is responsible for Public Works/Construction, Contract Administration, and procurement of Instructional and Non-instructional Equipment.

Carrie Everts is the Facilities Assistant at MiraCosta Community College District since 2015. Her job responsibilities include being the Civic Center Coordinator. Once Carrie took over the responsibilities of Civic Center, she began to streamline the process, collaborate with key people on campuses and works closely with Purchasing to ensure successful events for the College and the Community.

Carrie has 20+ years of event management. She owns her own business along with 27+ years of volunteer work for the community in North County, San Diego. Carrie has been featured in SDVoyager.

Carrie graduated with a Master of Educational Studies and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. Additionally, she has an Associate’s Degree in Theology from Word Bible College where she learned strong leadership skills. She has a multifaceted background, having worked in higher education administration for 9 years and in the private sector for over a decade.

Chanda Carpenter is the Director of Content Research and Development for NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement. Specializing in leading teams in instructional design and development, learning systems design and implementation, multimedia, and graphic design, Chanda has more than 20 years of experience developing online training and communications programs that focus on delivering an engaging experience to the user. Prior to NIGP, Chanda worked in the conservation, finance, and telecommunication industries.

Heather Cade-Bauer has worked for Lake Tahoe Community College District since 2011 in various capacities. Since 2014 she has worked in the Purchasing Department overseeing all District procurement of goods and services. Heather has served on the CollegeBuys Advisory Committee since 2020, is a co-chair of the Northern California Community College Purchasing Group since 2021, and has been a CAPPO member since 2017.

Hugh Lee is a senior partner/shareholder of Tao Rossini, APC. Mr. Lee’s practice is primarily focused on representing and advising various public agencies including community college districts, school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and non-profit organizations, in all aspects of public works construction law. This includes handling construction claims, disputes and litigation, construction contract administration, procurement, bidding and bid disputes, labor issues, and architectural malpractice. Mr. Lee advises clients in drafting construction-related documents including contracts and front-end documents for various construction delivery methods. Prior to becoming an attorney, Mr. Lee practiced as an architect working for various architectural design firms.

Jennifer Keiper currently serves as Senior Director of CollegeBuys at the Foundation for California Community Colleges, where she oversees business development efforts and program operations for the CollegeBuys program. One of her key roles is to sustain core business lines, diversify procurement opportunities, improve operational efficiencies and lead the department’s compliance efforts. Jennifer and her team work closely with the Chancellor’s Office, the Advisory Group and key stakeholders across the 73 districts to ensure their needs are being reflected in systemwide agreements, while simultaneously collaborating with corporate and intersegmental partners to increase access and cost-savings for students, colleges, and the system as a whole.

Jennifer has over ten years of experience in California’s public sector, eight of which have been dedicated to contracting in higher education within the CCC and UC systems. In her previous role as Contracts Officer for UC Davis Health, she was responsible for negotiating business contracts for UC Davis Medical Center, School of Medicine, and School of Nursing. Jennifer earned her bachelor of arts in political science from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and her juris doctorate in public interest from UC Davis School of Law.

Jorge Burwick serves as the Operations Manager, CollegeBuys where he oversees CollegeBuys contracts, vendor relationships, and contract support functions. Based on systemwide need, he works to develop new business lines by vetting prospective vendors and managing compliant requests for proposals. Jorge supports systemwide collaborative procurement initiatives.

Jorge has over 10 years of experience in higher education and has committed himself to working with projects that focus on equity and inclusion. Prior to joining the Foundation, he managed student programs at the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities where he was responsible for corporate relations and campus outreach. Jorge is a native Texan and earned his bachelor’s from Trinity University and master’s from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

J.C. Sales is the Vice President of Program Development for the Foundation for California Community Colleges. In this role, he supports ongoing efficiency and effectiveness for Foundation programs such as CollegeBuys, Workforce Development, Equity & Community Impact by serving as dot-connector to a vast network of relationships across the California Community Colleges system, state agencies, and public higher education system-partners. J.C. also works closely with the statewide Chancellor’s Office to provide support and ensure alignment with matters related to legislation, policy, and the state’s budget.

J.C. possesses nearly 20 years of experience in government and nonprofit sectors having worked for the Foundation for 12-years, and serving in the United States Army, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and the administrations of Attorney General Edmund G. Brown and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He received his bachelor’s in economics, juris doctorate, and masters in public administration from the University of Southern California.