Speakers

Dr. Jake Smithwick is the Director of Education with the Center for Procurement Excellence and is a professor at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte. Jake and his team have assisted hundreds of owners improve performance outcomes across thousands of projects ($15+ Billion of procured services in healthcare, insurance, construction, IT, auxiliary services, design, and more). His industry experience also includes six years in the US Air Force Reserve (civil engineering squadron).

Jennifer Alford is a strategic procurement leader dedicated to building high performing teams and advancing organizational transformation across public institutions. She serves as the Director of Purchasing, Contracts, and Auxiliary Services at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, California, bringing more than 20 years of public-sector experience spanning local government and higher education.
Throughout her career, Jennifer has led major institutional initiatives, including three construction bond programs, technology optimization and enhancement efforts, and a full ERP implementation. She excels in building strategic, collaborative teams that advance organizational mission, values, and long term goals. Jennifer’s expertise includes change management, policy development, risk management, emergency preparedness, and operational effectiveness.
Jennifer is a Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO) and has satisfied the requirements for the NIGP-Certified Procurement Professional (NIGP CPP) credential. She is an active member of several procurement associations, serves on the CollegeBuys Advisory Group, and was recently installed as the 2026–2027 President of the California Association of Public Procurement Officials, Inc. (CAPPO)—the first president to represent higher education.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology, with a minor in Spanish, from UC Santa Barbara, followed by a master’s degree in professional counseling from Argosy University in Atlanta.

Jennifer Keiper currently serves as Senior Director of Procurement Services 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.

Jesse currently serves as the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Information Technology Services at Rancho Santiago Community College District, where he is responsible for the overall leadership and administration of the Information Technologies Services Department. Jesse oversees all aspects of information technology, including enterprise applications, infrastructure and telecommunication services, cloud computing, data analytics, academic technology, and information security and compliance.
Jesse has over 23 years of Information Technology experience in a variety of industries, including 16 years in various IT management and supervisory roles, 12 of which have been within higher education. Jesse holds an MBA with focus on Information Technology, Management and Business strategy and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, as well as ITIL, CISOA and EDUCAUSE Leadership Institute certifications.

Jody Togonon is a Contract Compliance Officer for the San Francisco Community College District and manages the District’s numerous procurement contracts. He has been in this role since 2017 and previously worked for the San Francisco Mayor’s Office as a compliance officer. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Dominican University of California in San Rafael, California. Born and raised in the Bay Area, he currently resides in the East Bay with his wife and three children.

Joe Carbajal is the Contracts Manager for the Mt. San Antonio Community College District. He has spent the past seven years at Mt. San Antonio College in a variety of roles, developing a strong foundation in procurement and contract administration. Through his work on numerous construction contracts as part of the District’s billion-dollar bond construction program, Joe gained valuable experience that supports the preparation and review of the wide range of agreements the District manages each year.

Since joining the Purchasing team in 2024, Joe has contributed to the centralization of contracts, the refinement of purchasing policies and procedures, and the standardization of District agreements. He continues to support the ongoing development and refinement of the District’s centralized contracts management system, working closely with departments across campus to provide guidance, resources, and training. Joe enjoys seeing contracts come to life through student events, travel, performances, and major purchases, and takes pride in ensuring these activities are carried out safely, cost-effectively, and in support of the District’s mission to serve students.

Dr. Joel Peterson is currently Vice Chancellor and Executive Operations Officer at the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD). He oversees all operations, enterprise services, and facilities for one of California’s largest community college districts with four colleges, 10 campuses, and over 100,000 students. Dr. Peterson’s responsibilities include oversight of the SDCCD Police Department, public safety, and parking services; food and retail services; warehousing and inventory services; purchasing and contracts; property management and acquisitions; risk management and occupational safety and health; special events and conference services; sustainability and energy management, and all maintenance, repair, and renovations of all buildings, grounds, and equipment; as well as all planning, design, and construction including completion of the SDCCD’s current $1.6 billion bond construction program and a pending new $3.5 billion bond construction program.

Dr. Peterson is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where he studied nuclear engineering and economics as a Rodman Scholar and an Echols Scholar. He earned his PhD in Higher Education Leadership and Master of Arts in Education Finance from Claremont Graduate University and his MBA in Finance and Management Information Systems from the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech. Dr. Peterson is a decorated, former Lieutenant Commander, having served seven years active duty in the U.S. Navy as a Surface Warfare Office

John Geraghty is the Controller at Riverside Community College District and he manages Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Payroll, Central Cashiering, Asset Management, and Bookkeeping for Auxiliary services. John has 30 years of experience with 15 years in higher education and he has been at Riverside Community College District for the past five years. A technology enthusiast with a passion for optimizing systems, John has a deep interest in leveraging technology to streamline operations. Upon his arrival at RCCD, he found the Concur travel system installed but not yet fully optimized. He has since worked to enhance the system, transforming it into an efficient tool for managing travel through integrations with Concur, Bank of America, and Cal Travel.

John earned his Associates degree in Business Administration from Pasadena City College. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Business Administration from California State University, Northridge. John is a licensed CPA which he maintains in an active status.

Jorge Burwick serves as the Senior Program Manager of 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.

Dr. Jose Fierro began his tenure as President/Superintendent of the Cerritos Community College District in July 2015. Located in the Southeast Los Angeles region of California, Cerritos College is the foremost launchpad for upward social mobility in the local community. Dr. Fierro’s commitment to increasing educational access, success, and completion is reflected in the innovative ways that Cerritos College connects with the community and students.

Since his arrival in 2015, the community has seen a 386 percent increase in completion of transfer-level math courses in a student’s first year, and a 107 percent increase in completion of transfer-level English in a student’s first year. These momentum points are significant factors to a students’ success, as demonstrated by an 85 percent increase in the number of degree and certificate awards at Cerritos College.

With the support of time-tested partnerships between Cerritos College and local school districts, Dr. Fierro launched Cerritos Complete in 2016. More than a Promise Program, Cerritos Complete provides easy access to college for high school seniors. Cerritos Complete increases the velocity of completion through wraparound student services and a merit-based scholarship component. Cerritos Complete won the 2018 Examples of Excelencia Award in the Associate Level category, which is the only national effort to identify and promote evidence-based practices that help accelerate Latino student success in higher education. The program was also selected as a finalist for the 2018 Bellwether Award.

Dr. Fierro is a 2020-2021 Aspen Presidential Fellow and a 2017 Wheelhouse Fellow. He serves on various boards at the local, state, and national levels, including 2021-2022 President-Elect of the Chief Executive Officers of the California Community Colleges (CEOCCC) Board, Community College League Board of Directors, 2021 President-Elect of the National Community College Hispanic Council Board of Directors (NCCHC), Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education Alliance Executive Committee, 2021-2022 President of the California Association of Latino Community College Trustees and Administrators (CALCCTA) Board, Racial Equity and Inclusive Excellence (REIE) Taskforce, Los Angeles/Orange County Regional Consortium Governance Council, Coast Plaza Hospital Board of Directors in Norwalk, and the National Association of Community College Teachers Executive Board (NACCTEP).