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Colorado Procurement News

January, 2023

News for the Statewide Procurement Community from the State Purchasing and Contracts Office

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2023! I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday season, and was able to spend time with friends and family. 

I'm not one for resolutions, but I do see the new year as a fresh start and an opportunity for exciting new challenges! As such, I'm happy to share that I have been nominated and elected to serve as the 2023 NASPO ValuePoint Executive Council Chair-Elect. NASPO ValuePoint is a cooperative purchasing program for the 50 states and US territories that facilitates public procurement solicitations and agreements. The NASPO ValuePoint Executive Council provides direction and oversight of the cooperative contracting activities of NASPO's ValuePoint division. The Executive Council is comprised of ten state members, with two members from each of the four NASPO regions (East, Midwest, South, and West), a Chair, and a Chair-Elect.  I'm proud to serve in a national capacity and be Colorado's (your) voice in regard to cooperative contracts. 

Sincerely,

Sherri Maxwell, CPPB
Chief Procurement Officer

From the CPO

SPCO Staffing Update

The SPCO would like to welcome Feben Berhe, our new Central Contracts Specialist!  Feben comes to us from a background in civil rights, and most recently has been working as a Compliance Investigator for the State's Civil Rights Department. Originally from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Feben enjoys drinking copious amounts of coffee, spending time with her family and friends, and volunteering in the Ethiopian-American community. Welcome, Feben!

eSubmission Forms Reminder

The eSubmissions system allows users to request waivers and approvals for various procurement and fiscal related processes, using online PDF fillable forms. As a reminder, please do not use saved versions of the forms when making an online request, as these forms are frequently updated. Best practice is to download the form directly from our website each time you make a request. Questions should be directed to sandy.schweitzer@state.co.us. 

Did You Know?

The Governor's Office of Information Technology (OIT) has a 'State of Colorado Accessibility' Newsletter. Better understand your role in complying with House Bill 21-1110 and learn about accessibility best practices, tips and events. Sign up for the State of Colorado Accessibility Newsletter

Reminder: All NASPO-designed

Procurement U courses are now free!

Last year, as a way to thank the procurement professionals who led the way in procuring critical PPE and essential needs for state and local governments across the country, the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) made all of their Foundational Procurement courses free for everyone! 

Visit Procurement U to view the course offerings, which include:

• Introduction to Bid Protests
• Introduction to Ethical Procurement
• Contract Administration Strategies, and more!

You can create a free Procurement U account and sign up for these courses here. Note that most Procurement U courses are self-paced, so you can start them at any time.

Questions? Email procurementu@naspo.org.

Live Procurement Training

These training courses are currently being offered via Zoom. Visit the SPCO Procurement Training page for more information. 

Statutory Violations Prevention
3/14/2023 | 1:30pm - 3:00pm
Register
5/9/2023 | 1:30pm - 3:00pm
Register

Controller Pre-Delegation Training
2/21/2023 | 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Register
5/16/2023 | 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Register

Contract Drafting Boot Camp
4/27/2023 | 8:00am - 3:00pm
Register
8/24/2023 | 8:00am - 3:00pm
Register

COPROU Procurement Learning Library

These training courses are available to State procurement professionals through the Colorado Procurement University (COPROU). Visit the SPCO Procurement Training page for more information. 

• Foundations of State Procurement (Updated 11/2022)
• Methods of Source Selection (Updated 11/2022)
• Ethics and Conflicts of Interest

New training courses coming Spring 2023!

• Overview of Commitment Documents 
• Statutory Violations and Unauthorized Purchases

Contact thomas.wilson@state.co.us with questions about training. 

Name: Sarah Stoner

Title: Contracts & Procurement Director

Organization: Department of Personnel & Administration

Tell us a little bit about your background: I graduated from the University of Denver School of Law in 2012 and started looking for a job that would put my education to use. Around that time I found my first Contracts and Purchasing job with HCPF. In 2017 I moved to the Colorado Springs area and worked as an Associate Family Law Attorney before deciding that I wanted to get back into the Contracts and Purchasing field because family law is just not for me! At this point I took a position as a contractor with Odyssey Consulting doing contracting work for the Federal Government on Missile Defense programs out of Peterson Air Force Base. After that I took a position with Colorado Springs Utilities on their IT Contracts and Procurement team. Shortly before the pandemic hit I took on the role of acting supervisor for the IT Contract’s team and on boarded 3 new staff who all started right as Utilities’ moved out of the office to remote work. In 2021, with the ability to work remotely I came back to work for the State with the Governor’s Office of Information Technology where I focused on the Broadband project and worked primarily with contracts utilizing grant funds. In August of 2022 I accepted the Contracts & Procurement Director position at DPA.

How long have you been with your current organization? Since August 2022.

How did you get into the procurement field? I was looking for my first job after law school and was looking for positions in the contracts field as well as a couple of other areas of law and happened on a job posting for a Contract Specialist with HCPF.

Did you work in other professions, and if so where and for how long? I worked as an Associate Family Law Attorney for about a year.

Please share a professional or personal accomplishment you're proud of: My 2 year old daughter, Charlotte.

Tell us something interesting and unique about yourself: I’m allergic to chia seeds.

State Price Agreement Updates

• A new price agreement for mailing equipment has been signed with Quadient. Contact Nikki.Pollack@state.co.us for any additional information.

• With the recent execution of an agreement with SemaConnect, multiple new agreements are now available for 80A Electric Vehicle Charging Stations. You can contact Amy.Risley@state.co.us with questions.

• SPCO has signed a new participating addendum with Steelcase for Office Furniture. Please reach out to Mandy.Zila@state.co.us if you have any questions.

• NASPO ValuePoint and the lead state of Minnesota are currently in the process of extending the Computer Equipment Portfolio to July 31, 2023. SPCO’s Computer Equipment price agreements will be automatically extended when the Master Agreements are extended. Updates will be posted on BIDSColorado as they occur, and you may contact Gregory.Draughon@state.co.us for additional information.