About UPPCC

UPPCC Governing Board Members

The responsibility of the UPPCC Governing Board is to establish policy and procedures and provide overall governance of the CPPO and CPPB certification programs. The Governing Board is composed of 6 voting members; 3 elected members from NIGP and 3 appointed members from NASPO. Additional non-voting, advisory members comprise the Governing Board. Non-voting, advisory members include 1 individual representing the Canadian Federal Government, 1 individual representing the U.S. Federal Government, the current chief executive officers of NIGP and NASPO, academicians and any other members appointed by the chair as needed.

UPPCC Governing Board members serve three-year terms and can serve a maximum of 3 consecutive terms. If you are currently certified as a Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO) and want to review Governing Board member qualifications, please review the UPPCC Governing Board Position Description and the UPPCC Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Statement for an in-depth description of this rewarding volunteer role and its various responsibilities. If you meet the qualifications and are sincerely passionate about promoting and enhancing your profession, please contact the current UPPCC Governing Board Chairman or the chief executive officer of either NIGP or NASPO for information on the organizations election and/or appointment process.

2011 UPPCC Governing Board Members

Chair

Norma Hall, FNIGP, CPPO, CPPB, CPM
Procurement Manager II
Office of Materials Management
State of South Carolina
E-mail: nhall@mmo.state.sc.us
Representing: NIGP
Serving 2nd Term as Chair: 2011 - 2013
Serving 2nd Term as a Member: 2010 - 2012

Ms. Norma Hall recently retired as Director of Procurement Services for the South Carolina Department of Transportation after twelve years of service and now serves as Procurement Manager for the Office of Materials Management for South Carolina's Budget and Control Board. She worked for various agencies of state government over the past 32 years. While employed by SCDOT she implemented various procurement systems, functions and activities that resulted in greatly reducing administrative costs for the agency.

Norma has been a member of the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP) and the South Carolina Association of Government Purchasing Officials Chapter of NIGP (SCAGPO) since 1981 and served as President of NIGP for the 2005-2006 term. Norma is a Master Instructor and has been teaching for NIGP since 1986. In 1998, she received NIGP's Purchasing Manager of the Year Award. She is the 1989 Past President of SCAGPO and has held various positions of leadership throughout her membership in SCAGPO. She was their 1991 recipient of the James H. Barnes Award for recognition of her achievements and contributions towards the advancement of governmental purchasing.

Norma has made presentations to other Chapters of NIGP on procurement and management topics, as well as presentations to private companies that are interested in learning "How to do Business with the Government."

Vice Chair

David P. Gragan, CPPO
Assistant Director for Procurement
Department of the Treasury
E-mail: david.gragan@treasury.gov
Representing: NASPO
Serving 1st Term as Vice Chair: 2010 - 2012
Serving 2nd Term as Member: 2011 - 2013

David Gragan is currently the Procurement Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Prior to accepting his current position in December 2010, he served as the Chief Procurement Officer for the District of Columbia since June 2007.

Dave has spent several years consulting with a number of state and local governments on procurement reform, working as a public sector lead for Accenture, Oracle and CGI. He is a public procurement professional, having been the Chief Procurement Officer for two states, Indiana and Texas. Dave was honored by his peers with the distinguished service awards of both the National Association of State Procurement Officials and the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, recognizing his career contributions to the profession of public procurement. He is also a Certified Public Procurement Officer and a lifetime member of NASPO, as well as a member of the Board of Advisors of NCMA. Mr. Gragan was a signals intelligence officer in the United States Marine Corps. He is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and the University of Southern California.

Secretary

Michael E. Bevis, CPPO, CPSM, C.P.M., PMP
Chief Procurement Officer
City of Naperville, Illinois
E-mail: bevism@naperville.il.us
Representing: NIGP
Serving 1st Term as Secretary: 2011 - 2013
Serving 1st Term as a Member: 2011 - 2013

Treasurer

Jean Clark, FNIGP, CPPO, CPPB, C.P.M., CPM
State Procurement Administrator
Arizona Department of Administration
E-mail: jean.clark@azdoa.gov
Representing: NASPO
Serving 1st Term as Treasurer: 2010 - 2012
Serving 1st Term as a Member: 2010 - 2012

Jean currently possesses 25 years of public procurement experience at the State and local level. She began her career as a buyer and has continually progressed to upper level procurement positions. Her current position is serving as State Procurement Administrator for the State of Arizona.

She is Past President for the Arizona Capitol Chapter and Past President for the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, Inc. (NIGP). She is also a Past President of the National Electronic Commerce Coordinating Council. She has obtained her procurement certifications as well as receiving a Master's in Public Administration.

Over her career, Jean has received the prestigious National NIGP Buyer of the Year Award and is the only procurement professional to be named the National NIGP Manager of the Year twice.

 

Members

Kevin Beardsley, CPPO, CPPB
Director, Purchasing Services
Virginia Beach Public Schools
E-mail: kevin.beardsley@vbschools.com
Representing: NIGP
Serving 1st Term as a Member: 2011 - 2012

James F. Miluski, CPPO
Director, Division of Purchasing
State of Missouri
E-mail: jim.miluski@oa.mo.gov
Representing: NASPO
Serving 1st Term as a Member: 2010 - 2012

James Miluski received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Missouri - Columbia in 1980. Jim entered government service in 1981 and has worked for the Missouri Division of Purchasing & Materials Management for his entire career. He has worked in all phases of the procurement operation since entering governmental service and was appointed the Director of the Division of Purchasing and Materials Management in July 2001.

He has served as President, Vice President and Secretary of the Missouri Association of Public Purchasing, Inc., a chapter of the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, Inc. He serves as the Missouri representative for the National Association of State Purchasing Officers (NASPO), has served as a board member, and has participated in various NASPO committees such as Emerging Issues and Marketing Meeting. Jim is a Certified Public Procurement Officer (issued in 1994) and recently completed his term as chairman of the Universal Public Procurement Certification Council (UPPCC) Board of Examiners (BOE) before accepting a position on the UPPCC Governing Board.

Advisory Non-Voting Members

Vacant
Representing: United States Federal Government

Vacant
Representing: Canadian Federal Government

Rick Grimm, CPPO, CPPB
Chief Executive Officer
National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, Inc.
E-mail: rgrimm@nigp.org
Representing: NIGP

Rick Grimm became NIGP's fifth Chief Executive Officer in January 1998.

Rick holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from the University of Miami and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Florida International University. He served county governments and public school districts for 23 years, including over 12 years in the management of the public procurement function. Achieving CPPB certification in 1987 and CPPO certification in 1992, Rick received the NIGP Professional Purchasing Manager of the Year in 1993. In 1995, he was elected to the NIGP Board of Directors - serving in this capacity until his appointment as the Institute's Chief Executive Officer.

Under Rick's leadership, the Institute has re-written its major curriculum authored by academicians and practitioners under the LEAP Program (Learning and Education to Advance Procurement). LEAP includes six foundation courses, eight advanced courses, and an Executive Certificate program which incorporates a college-level capstone experience. The Institute has also added distance learning opportunities to NIGP's growing list of educational offerings. In 2005, the Institute launched an educational certificate program for government contractors. Additionally, under Rick's leadership, NIGP has instituted an agency accreditation program, the Public Procurement Research Center, a Journal of Public Procurement, a comprehensive marketing plan following a revised vision and mission statement, a strategic planning process for the Board of Directors and national committees, numerous enhancements to the NIGP Web site, and a Business Council that links corporate suppliers to the association. Since his appointment in 1998, 19 new NIGP Chapter Affiliates have been chartered including the Institute's first student chapter on the campus of the California Polytechnic Institute in Pomona.

Rick also served as President of the International Federation of Purchasing and Supply Management (IFPSM) in 2004-2005 and remains an active member of their Board of Directors.

Jack Gallt
Director
National Association of State Procurement Officials
E-mail: jgallt@AMRms.com
Representing: NASPO

Jack Gallt serves as director for the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) and is responsible for day-to-day operations and supervision of the staff team at AMR Management Services, NASPO's executive staff and management company. His duties include board support, strategic planning, workplan and budget development, financial management, project coordination, and general member communications and outreach.

Jack has served in his current position with NASPO since January 2006. Prior to that, he spent three and a half years working with the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) as an issues coordinator and then as assistant director. Before joining AMR in 2002, he spent 14 years at The Council of State Governments (CSG) where he worked in various positions including national programs manager, policy analyst and research associate. From 1989 to 2000, he served as staff director for three national associations affiliated with CSG. In that capacity, Jack was responsible for managing the professional staff assigned to each organization to provide conference planning, research and information services, member services and development, financial management and executive committee support.

Jack is a graduate of the University of Kentucky where he received a bachelor's degree in communications with a concentration in business administration and marketing. He also took 24 hours of coursework toward a Masters degree in communications at UK. He is a member of the American Society of Association Executives.

Academicians

Clifford McCue, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Public Administration
Florida Atlantic University - Urban & Public Affairs
E-mail: cmccue@fau.edu

Mohamad Alkadry, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Public Administration and Coordinator, Master of Public Administration Program
Florida International University- Urban Studies & Public Administration
E-mail: malkadry@fiu.edu