Speakers

Kim Simonds is the Purchasing Supervisor at MiraCosta College. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Leadership from Colorado State University and a Master of Public Administration from California State University, Long Beach. She has over 20 years of procurement experience in the California Community College System. In the 13 years she has been with MiraCosta College, she has specialized in Public Works/Construction including related professional services and Contract Administration.

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.

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.

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.

Marie Hampton is a dedicated, results-driven, and proactive Procurement and Materials professional with more than 25 years of experience in the public sector. She is well-versed in the strategic planning, contract management, risk management, project management, supervision, and development of procurement activities. Marie has spent her entire career thriving in the public procurement space; creating and implementing programs, policies and procedures for strategic alignment with the organization’s values and goals.

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.).

Priya Jerome has over 23 years of combined private and public sector experience in managing and overseeing complex supply chain activities globally. Working in the private sector, Priya honed valuable skills in business process improvements to drive overall efficacies and cost savings across the entire supply chain. Over the past 12 years, she has managed the Procurement, Contracting, Central Services and Risk Management activities at two California community college districts, where she successfully implemented web based, fully integrated e-procurement systems and contracts management systems. These implementations were widely recognized for delivering cost, time, process, and productivity efficiencies. Priya joined the South Orange County Community College District (SOCCCD) team as the Executive Director of Procurement, Central Services, and Risk Management in 2018 where she continues to passionately focus her endeavors in providing the best possible educational experience to all students through the services her division provides. She leads a large, centralized division supporting two colleges and the District with a deep understanding of distinctive business needs in education, high currency in codes, statutes and regulations, and a unique private sector perspective for customer service and process improvements. In any given year she oversees an average of 1,500 contracts, 3,600 purchase orders, jointly valued over $210 million and over 25 large publicly procured bids and RFQ&Ps. Priya’s leadership and commitment to excellence has been recognized in the various personal and institutional awards/recognitions she has won. In 2019 she was recognized as the Administrator of the Year at SOCCCD and in 2020 she was recognized as the Southern California Procurement Professional of the Year. In 2021 her District won the much-coveted Orange County Turning Red Tape to Red Carpet Award for Incorporating Innovative Technology for converting SOCCCD into a Fully Online Bidding, Contracting and Public Procurement Organization an effort she spearheaded from start to successful completion. Priya is active in several state organizations in support of community college procurement and risk management initiatives. She is the Vice President of the board for the Protected Insurance Program for Schools and Community Colleges (PIPS), a joint powers authority which is responsible for workers’ compensation insurance claims. She is the Vice Chair of the Underwriting Committee for the Statewide Association of Community Colleges (SWACC), which is responsible for property and liability insurance. She is also a select member of the CollegeBuys program (Foundation for CA Community Colleges, an arm of the CA Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office) advisory group that contributes system-wide towards leveraging combined/streamlining purchasing powers, total cost of ownership, and shared best practices. Within the advisory group, she additionally contributes as a co-chair in the Legislative and Policy Workgroup. Priya holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Queensland Institute of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.

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.

Sherman is a principal of Public Agency Law Group. Sherman’s practice is devoted to representing public education institutions in construction, purchasing, facilities and general business matters. He has decades of experience assisting CCDs in navigating the confusing complexities of public procurement laws, rules and regulations. He is a member of the LA County Bar Association and is admitted to practice in all California state courts, all United States District Courts in California and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Evolving from the still thriving practice she launched in 2003, Stephanie founded Collegium Strategies, LLC as a platform to extend her knowledge and insight and to empower other specialists in the facility planning-related field. She founded her first company, Dovetail Decision Consultants, Inc. following a 20-year career in Facilities, Furniture Planning and Sales Management, specifically to assist publicly funded entities with crucial aspects of FF&E planning, procurement and implementation as a client representative. Stephanie’s career journey began at Bechtel in Los Angeles where she helped to shepherd a 500,000 square foot new headquarters building for the LA Power Division. She went on to lead the systems planning team for a Herman Miller dealership, and manage the interiors team of another. She then focused on sales and sales leadership with furniture manufacturers, culminating that portion of her career as a District Manager for one of the industry’s largest manufacturers of educational furniture. She is formally educated in Interior Design (Foothill College and CSU Long Beach), Project Leadership (UC Berkeley Extension) and a wide range of business-related leadership programs (Academy Leadership, Major Account Management, etc.). Stephanie is the proud parent of a recent community college and university graduate, and is a passionate supporter of public education. She has spent 22 years serving her community institutions as an elected official.