September 27, 2022

This installment of The Contracting Academy took place on September 27, 2022, from 9:00 AM – 12:00 NOON. Session recordings are available at the links below.

For questions or assistance, contact the Wisconsin Procurement Institute (WPI) at (414) 270-3600 or at info@wispro.org.

AGENDA

9-10 AM – State of Wisconsin Goods & Services – VIEW Recording

• Tondra Davis, Director, State of Wisconsin Supplier Diversity Program
• Jessica Potter, Section Chief for Resources & Special Programs, Wisconsin State Bureau of Procurement
• Saul Arteaga, Director, SWITS Ltd.

10-11 AM – State of Wisconsin Construction, A/E & Related Services – VIEW Recording

• Audra Jervey, Enterprise Contract Officer, State of Wisconsin Department of Administration
• Matt Klaila, Program and Policy Analyst (DFDM), State of Wisconsin Department of Administration
• Clifton Phelps, Vice President-Business Development, JCP Construction

11-12 NOON – Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) – VIEW Recording

• Elizabeth Garland, Section Chief for Purchasing, Wisconsin Department of Transportation
• John Remy, Purchasing Agent, Wisconsin Department of Transportation

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SPEAKERS AND BIOGRAHPIES

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Jessica Potter

Section Chief for Resources & Special Programs, Wisconsin State Bureau of Procurement

Jessica Potter has worked for the Wisconsin State Bureau of Procurement (SBOP) for five years and is currently the Section Chief for the WisPro Resources & Special Programs Section. She and her team are responsible for helping businesses register as bidders with the State of Wisconsin, training all of the State’s procurement staff, maintaining the State’s procurement systems, and posting content to the Bureau’s websites. She happily considers herself to be a “procurement nerd” and enjoys continuing to learn all about procurement best practices. Prior to her current position in SBOP, she began her career with the State in 2017 as the Procurement Training Specialist and played a main role in the launching of the eSupplier Portal for Bidders.

Saul Arteaga

Director, SWITS Ltd.

Saul Arteaga was born and raised in Lima, Peru. At 19 years old, he immigrated to the US where he worked while attending a community college. He further pursued his academic career by completing a bachelor’s degree in Spanish at UW-Milwaukee. In 2002, Mr. Arteaga established SWITS, Ltd., a language service provider based in Delavan, Wisconsin which provides all spoken and signed language services to healthcare organizations, law enforcement, circuit and municipal courts, and educational institutions.

In 2004, Mr. Arteaga passed the Wisconsin Certified Court Interpreter examination. Soon after, he became a member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court Committee to Improve Court Interpretation and Translation in Wisconsin Courtrooms.

In addition to legal interpreting, Mr. Arteaga also pursued medical and community interpreting, passing the Medical Interpreter Competency Examination offered by the National Center of Interpretation at the University of Arizona and attending classes at the Agnese Haury Summer Institute for Court Interpretation and Medical Interpretation at the University of Arizona in Tucson in 2004 and 2008, respectively. To further demonstrate his commitment to providing qualified interpreters to his community, Mr. Arteaga passed the National Board of Certified Medical Interpreters examination in 2012. As a believer in interpreter education, Mr. Arteaga acted as an adviser for several community college interpreter programs and developed Equal Footing, a 60-hour medical and community interpreter training program accredited by the IMIA CMIE. Currently, Mr. Arteaga serves as the director of SWITS, Ltd., an Equal Footing instructor, and a certified medical and legal Spanish interpreter. SWITS received several Marketplace awards, one of which was for Outstanding Large Business as an MBE in 2010.

Audra Jervey

Enterprise Contract Officer, State of Wisconsin Department of Administration

Audra has worked in the bureau of Capital Budget & Construction Administration for the past seven years and has been the Enterprise Contract Officer for the past five years. In this role, Audra coordinates the A/E Selection Committee tasked with selecting architectural, engineering, and consulting services for DFD led projects, and writes and processes architecture and engineering contracts.

Matt Klaila

Program and Policy Analyst (DFDM), State of Wisconsin Department of Administration

Matt Klaila has worked for the Department of Administration for nine years.  He has acted as the primary certification liaison since DOA Contractor Certification was introduced to the State in 2014. Matt coordinates certification with construction contractors to become eligible to bid on State construction projects. He also contributes to the diverse contractor 5% bid preference evaluation.

Clifton Phelps

Vice President-Business Development, JCP Construction

Clifton focuses on building relationships, project forecasting, marketing, preparing bid packages and working with leadership on strategic elements of upcoming projects.

His career includes more than 20 years of experience in commercial real‐estate, property management, public policy and non-profit management.

Clifton recently served as the co-chair for the Running Rebels Community Organization Capital Campaign in which they successfully raised $4.1 million. He is also a former chairman of the African American Chamber of Commerce – Wisconsin. While serving, he led the transition to a new Executive Director and coordinated the AACCW move to their new location on King Drive. Clifton currently serves on the Martin Luther King Economic Development Corporation Board and is on the Minority Business Enterprise Input Committee for the North Central Supplier Diversity Council. Clifton was honored in 2018 as a winner of the Milwaukee Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Award.

Elizabeth Garland

Section Chief for Purchasing, Wisconsin Department of Transportation

Liz Garland has over twenty years procurement experience with the State of Wisconsin. With the Wisconsin Department of Transportation since January 2019, she serves as liaison to DOA and special designated agent responsible for ensuring all procurements performed by purchasing professionals at DOT adhere to the statutes, rules and procedures established by SBOP. For fifteen years prior, Liz served in a number of procurement roles at Department of Health Services and began her state career in the State Bureau of Procurement in July 2000. Early career highlights include working on a team to procure the state’s first RFP seeking a one-provider card solution for the state’s purchasing, fleet and travel card programs and conducting one of the State of Wisconsin’s first “reverse auctions” for salt, held Sep. 12, 2001, despite the terrorist attacks throughout the U.S. just the day prior.

John Remy

Purchasing Agent, Wisconsin Department of Transportation

John Remy is a Purchasing Agent for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation since January of 2020 and has served in various positions with WisDOT since November of 1992. He spent 18 years in the Creative Communication Services Unit (CCS) as an Audio-Visual Producer and their purchasing lead, manager for the state’s High School Safe Driving Program. John also worked for the Division of State Patrol’s Bureau of Transportation Safety as a Safety Program Manager and in the Division of Motor Vehicles – Dealer Section as the state’s Lemon Law Administrator and Vehicle Bond Program Manager. Since joining the Purchasing Section, John’s responsibilities include Division of State Patrol, the State Patrol Academy, Freeway Service Team, Car-Killed Deer/Bear Removal, DMV Money Pick-up, Asphalt Extractors and Human Service Vehicles, among other responsibilities.

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