2023

April Marin is the Executive Director, Contract, Procurement, and Risk Management Services for the Santa Clarita Community College District. She has over seventeen 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 $50 million in Purchase Orders each year, and her department was recently awarded the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award from the National Procurement Institute for the second year in a row. Her District was 1 of only 14 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 represents California community colleges on 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.

Majd Askar is the Vice President of Business Services at Moreno Valley College (MVC). At MVC, Askar leads various college operations, including facilities and grounds maintenance, safety ​operations, food services, bookstore, campus operations, building security systems, college technology services and initiatives, grant support, and assures compliance with financial/business and contractual obligations. Askar serves as a member of the senior leadership team, ensuring that the College achieves its strategic and operational goals, while maintaining the commitment to shared governance.

Lisa Mealoy is the Chief Operating Officer for the Community College League of California. She
oversees the District Services Division which includes Energy Services, its Solar and Storage and
Direct Access Electricity Program. She has been with the League for six years.

Mark B. Logan, Director of Purchasing and Contract Administration at Cerritos College, has over 20 years of experience and expertise in complex public procurement and contract management. In his current role, he is responsible for contracting, purchasing, public works, warehouse operations, mail, and telecommunications. Prior to joining Cerritos College, Mark worked at Chaffey College where he managed the purchasing services department for the college’s three-campus district; the Clark County Housing Authority, where he was fully responsible for the development of the agency’s contracts administration department; and Professional Community Management, administering a wide range of contracts for a private planned community.

Leadership contributions to the public procurement profession include serving on the FCCC CollegeBuys Advisory Group, Universal Public Procurement Certification Counsel (UPPCC) Board of Examiners (BOE) as a public procurement subject matter expert (SME), various board member roles for the National Institute for Governmental Purchasing (NIGP) California chapter, past co-chair for the Southern California Community College Purchasing Association (SCCCPA), delivering various public procurement presentations and workshops, and was awarded the inaugural 2015 Southern California Procurement Professional of the Year award.

Mark holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from CSU, Long Beach, Graduate Center for Public Policy and Administration, and has also earned the professional designations of NIGP Certified Procurement Professional (NIGP-CPP), Certified Public Purchasing Officer (CPPO), Certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M.), Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB), and Accredited Purchasing Practitioner (A.P.P.).

Tina Nguyen Schwarz is a veteran in the world of SaaS based solutions across the supplier management, eSourcing, and Procue-to-Pay landscape. Tina brings a wealth of best practices from 20+ years of projects in both the private and public sectors with a focus on Higher Ed for the last 10 years as she helps colleges, universities and community colleges solve business problems and achieve measurable results with their eProcurement initiatives and transformation.

Liz Avila-Delgado, who is passionate about creating equitable access to higher education, joined the Foundation for California Community Colleges in August 2021 as the Engagement Specialist for the Vision Resource Center. Through her support and coaching of systemwide event and community moderators, Liz ensures that the 140,000+ Vision Resource Center users have access to resources and professional development opportunities. Liz has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 8 years, having worked at a nonprofit healthcare clinic in North San Diego County prior to joining the Foundation. Liz is a San Diego native and earned her bachelor’s from Cal State San Marcos.

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.

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.

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.

Rebekah Kalleen is a partner at Murdoch, Walrath & Holmes and a legislative advocate for education entities including the Coalition for Adequate School Housing, the Community College Facility Coalition, and the County School Facilities Consortium. She has over fifteen years of experience in the State advocacy sector, helping clients from small associations to large companies navigate the State budget, legislative, and regulatory processes. She previously served as a consultant to school districts participating in the State School Facility Program, assisting them with accessing state grant dollars for facility projects. Rebekah has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.