Mass Black Expo – October 6th  

Boston, Massachussetts 

Avery Knott, David Cho, Christine Escobedo, Michael Durkin, and Nakarla Haughton standing in front of a sign

A team comprising Avery Knott (Communications Intern), David Cho (Chief Procurement Officer), Christine Escobedo (Supplier Relationship Manager), Michael Durkin (Director of Strategic Sourcing), and Nakarla Haughton (Procurement Operations Intern) attended the Mass Black Expo (MBE), organized by the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA). The MBE serves as a gathering for numerous Black-owned businesses, entrepreneurs, and professionals, providing opportunities for purchasing, capacity-building resources, as well as skill and career advancement options.

 

EDUCAUSE Annual Conference October 9th – 12th  

Chicago, Illinois  

A group of 6 people standing in front of a screen

David Cho, Amanda Onwuka, and David Nero standing in front of a screen

At the annual EDUCAUSE Conference, David Cho (Chief Procurement Officer), Amanda Onwuka (Director of Service & Quality), and David Nero (AVP of Strategy & Innovation) participated as panelists alongside CDW partners. During the session, they discussed Supplier Diversity and its role in advancing economic equity and social justice. The conversation highlighted the importance of engaging with suppliers from diverse backgrounds, fostering increased opportunities for historically marginalized communities to participate more inclusively in the mainstream economy.

 

SIG SUMMIT 10/16 – 10/18

Scottsdale, Arizona

Anne Zuev presenting in front of a group of people sitting


At the Sourcing Industry Group (SIG) Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, UMass was represented by Anne Zuev, the Special Projects Manager, and David Cho, the Chief Procurement Officer. Invited by Jaggaer, they presented insights on the DigitalCapture project, focusing on its role in prioritizing automation opportunities and fostering a high-performance culture. The DigitalCapture project employs optical character recognition (OCR), enabling the automatic extraction of information from supplier invoices to generate vouchers.

 

JAGGAER CAB meeting 10/10 – 10/12

Austin, Texas

Photo of Michael Durkin in front of a fountain

At the JAGGAER CAB Meeting in Austin, Texas, Michael Durkin, the Director of Strategic Sourcing, served as the representative for UMass. This gathering provides JAGGAER, the host of the BuyWays platform, with the opportunity to present best practices and its plans for enhancing the platform in the coming years to a select group of keys, strategic customers. Additionally, it offers customers a platform to express their concerns and contribute insights regarding the improvements they would like to see in the platform.

 

NAEP Fall Conference October 23rd – 25th  

Newport, Rhode Island

Claudia Cortes, Rob Hyde, Sue Cone, Christine Escobedo, and Brian Girard posing in front of the water

Claudia Cortes (Training & Communications Manager), Rob Hyde (Bank Card Manager), Sue Cone (Senior Contract Specialist), Christine Escobedo (Supplier Relationship Manager), and Brian Girard (Director of Procurement Operations) attended the National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP) New England fall conference where they attended sessions on how to be effective communicators, finding their strengths via Clifton Strengths, best practices of supplier diversity in higher education, and more.  

 

Hackett Group Symposium October 26th – 27th  

Atlanta, Georgia

Muzaffar Kosimov and Bill Mannix posing in front of a conference hall

Muzaffar Kosimov (Strategic Sourcing Specialist) and Bill Mannix (Category Manager) attended The Hacket Group’s North American Symposium where industry thought leaders, esteemed HR executives, and accomplished business professionals across diverse sectors share best practice on enhancing performance insight and leveraging service delivery models.