CYD GRIMES, C.P.M.
Cyd is the Chief Procurement Officer for Travis County and is responsible to direct and oversee the county procurement process for all elected and appointed officials and commissioners court departments. Ms. Grimes has been the Travis County Purchasing Agent since 1992. For the sixth year in a row, her office has been awarded the National Purchasing Institute’s Achievement in Procurement Award. She is the past President and Vice-President of the Texas County Purchasing Association (TCPA) and currently serves on the TxPPA Legislative Committee, Cyd is also a member of NPI . Ms. Grimes holds a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from Stephen F. Austin State University.

DANIEL R. GARZA
Dan serves as the Bexar County Purchasing Agent in San Antonio, Texas. He is responsible for directing the operations, assesses current and potential needs of the Purchasing Department. Mr. Garza identifies and implements innovative solutions to improve service delivery, increase operational efficiency and control costs; develops and communicates goals in support of the County’s business mission; demonstrates support for innovation and organization changes necessary to improve organizational effectiveness; and oversees complex and evolving technology systems and e-procurement activities. Mr. Garza’s previous employment reflects over twenty years in the Procurement field consisting of fifteen years with the Federal Government, four years in the Private Sector, and five years with local County Government. Dan obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Management & Human Resources from Park University and a Master’s Degree in Procurement & Acquisitions Management from Webster University.

PAMELA M. PERKINS
Pam is an investigator/program specialist in the Consumer Protection Division of the Texas Attorney General’s Office where she has worked since 1988. Pam graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University and completed graduate work at Southwest Texas State University. Pam has investigated and worked on numerous bid rigging, price fixing, and related antitrust cases involving public procurement issues, and teaches classes throughout the state on issues and concerns with public entity purchasing.

JEFF MCPETERS, CPA, CEBS, CLU, ChFC, REBC
Jeff is a Principal with Group & Pension Administrators, Inc. (GPA), and has been with the company for 20 years. GPA is one of the largest and oldest Third Party Administrators in Texas with over 43 years in business. He received his BA degree in Accounting from The University of Texas and was formally with KPMG Peat Marwick before joining GPA.

CARLOS CASCOS, CPA
Carlos is the newly re-elected Cameron County Judge, and is a partner at Patillo, Brown, & Hill, CPA’s an accounting firm with eight (8) offices located in Texas and New Mexico. A Certified Financial Manager and a member of the American College of Forensic Examiners. Carlos is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.

NARITA HOLMES, CPA
A CPA. in the State of Texas since 1971, Narita served as Ector County Purchasing Agent from 1987 until she retired in 2004. Previous employment includes three years with a big-eight accounting firm, and fifteen years as chief financial officer for financial institutions. She has been an accounting instructor for Odessa College and the University of Texas of the Permian Basin and also taught a variety of management courses including Purchasing Management. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a BBA in Accounting, she earned an MBA in Management at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. Narita is a Board Member of the new Texas Public Purchasing Association.

GEORGE C. GOULD, III
George founded the Employee Benefits Division in 1996 when he joined the Principal of Capital Strategies Group. In addition to directing the Employee Benefits division of Capital Strategies, George also specializes in the design and implementation of health and welfare benefits for clients. He was instrumental in bringing the IBX, a proprietary, transparent RFP process to CSG. The IBX, which is a web based procurement process that has successfully resulted in an average savings of 25% for our clients and prospects’ disability and life spend. George has more than 25 years’ experience in the Employee Benefits industry and is a local, state, and national member of the Association of Health Underwriters, and a Registered Health Underwriter. George holds a degree in Education from Birmingham Southern College, which he utilized as a teacher and principal prior to entering the insurance industry. He received his Masters in Education Administration from the University of Alabama.

ANTONIO (TONY) GRACIA, CPM
Tony is currently the Director of purchasing for the Harlingen CISD. He graduated from UT Pan American with a BA-Management. Tony has been in the purchasing and materials management profession for 36 years; 17 in the private sector and 19 in the public sector. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the TASB BuyBoard’s Purchasing Cooperative.

ANNE WHEELER, CPM
Anne is the Purchasing Agent for Leander ISD. Anne has over 26 years of purchasing and contract management experience, leading purchasing teams for the City of Natchitoches LA, Texas Commission for the Blind, Austin Community College, and Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation. She is a graduate of business school at the University of Texas at Austin and has earned her CPM and CPPB. Anne currently serves on the Board for CTPA-Central Texas Purchasing Association.

STEVE FISHER
Steve is currently the Program Manager for TASB’s Texas Local Government Statewide Purchasing Cooperative (BuyBoard). Mr. Fisher has spent the last 16 years working with various governmental entities throughout Texas. He also spent 7 years working with the TASB as Assistant Director of District Services responsible for the statewide marketing of the Associations programs and services.

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NATACHA PELÁEZ-WAGNER
Natacha’s professional background spans over 30 years. Her experience includes the management and administration of public sector programs and nonprofit organizations, public school and community college education, and paralegal work in the area of litigation. Her skills range from organizational development, to operational assessments, program development and management, strategic planning, training, interagency coordination, and community outreach and response. Ms. Peláez-Wagner is a principal in the firm MGT of America, Inc. a national public sector management consulting company. During her ten year tenure at MGT, she has worked on and/or managed numerous studies across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico, helping state agencies, county and municipal governments and school districts conduct efficiency reviews, to improve their operations while also realizing cost savings.

SAMUEL “BUCK” ORRISON
Buck came to HCA/H2U Wellness Centers in January of 2011 as Director of Sales and heads up the employer sales effort for H2U. He is a seasoned veteran with over 20 years of experience in the large employer predominately self funded (ASO) marketplace. Buck has negotiated some of the largest contracts awarded to the top 500 companies. He has been credited with developing one of the first domestic hospital steerage plans for some of the country’s largest hospital management companies. Buck has a passion for bringing qualifiable and sustainable change to the delivery and financing of healthcare. Active in his community, he served on boards and committees for numerous civic organizations, including the American Heart Association, National Diabetes Foundation, Junior Achievement and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, in addition he is on the Board of Director for the March of Dimes.

WILLIAM (BILL) RUSTEBERG
Bill is an independent insurance agent; he is currently the Employee Benefits Consultant for numerous governmental entities. He has over 34 years of experience in the insurance industry. Bill also holds a license in Risk Management (among others) issued by the Texas Department of Insurance with reciprocal licenses in Illinois, Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

DALLAS RAY SMETTER, M. ED.
Dallas is the Director of Technology for the San Benito CISD he has assisted in the development of district technology plans for approval by Texas Education Agency and developed long-term technology staff development program. Mr. Smetter has an Ed. D. Degree and an M. Ed. from the UT Brownsville, and received his B.S. Ed. from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

LAURA S. FOWLER
Laura has been a licensed Texas Attorney for the last 29 years. After graduating from Baylor Law School in 1979, and after a three-year tour as a commissioned officer in the US Naval Reserve, Laura returned to Texas where she has concentrated her practice in construction and real estate. Laura is a principle partner in the Fowler Law Firm. Recently established, it now has eighteen attorneys and nine support staff.

SHANNON MORGAN
Shannon, Senior Account Executive, Holmes Murphy & Associates, has over twenty years of experience with benefits and insurance. Shannon spent fifteen years as a Risk and Insurance Director with public entity before moving to the consulting side four years ago. She graduated from Lamar University with a BA in business. She holds a Group 1 Insurance License, a Life and Health Insurance Counselor License and has an ARM designation.

JOE L. LOPEZ
Joe has a BBA degree from UT-Pan American University. He currently serves as a school board member with South Texas ISD. He is a past board member with Brownsville ISD, Valley Appraisal District, the Boys/Girls Club, and Legislative Board of Region One. He is a financial consultant and is involved in his family-owned grocery store chain.

MELITON MOYA, Ph.D
Meliton received his PhD from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Major in Clinical Psychology, Minor; Social Psychology, BA from Pan American University. Dr. Moya has extensive experience in working with psychological arrangements, teaching psychology at the University level both undergraduate and graduate courses. He is the founder of “The Process Manager” specializing in educational management solutions.

JOSEPH BLASI, ARM, CPCU
Joseph is a Sr. Vice President with McGriff, Seibels, & Williams. Via the ESC Region 2 & ESC Region 4 Risk Management Services programs, he has assisted school districts address Risk Management topics since 1992. Joe graduated from the University of St. Thomas (Summa Cum Laude) and began his career training in Chicago with the C.N.A. Insurance Company in 1994. He holds the Associate In Risk Management and Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriter designation from the Insurance Institute of America.

ROYCE MCCOY
Royce is a fifth generation Texan, growing up on the Texas Gulf Coast, where he attended the University of Houston. In November 2002 he was elected as County Judge and presided in the County Court. Judge McCoy is CEO at US Identity Theft Solutions, LLC and is a “Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist” (CITRMS) through the prestigious “Institute of Fraud Risk Management” and speaks to groups across America regarding “Identity Theft”.

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