Walks Over Ice represents Native American PTACs on association’s leadership team
June 23, 2017: The Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC) is pleased to announce that Mary Walks Over Ice, Program Manager of the Native American Development Corporation Procurement Technical Assistance Center (NADC PTAC) has been elected Region 11 Director of the Association. APTAC’s Region 11 is comprised of the six Native American PTACs that serve native- and tribal-owned businesses across the country. She was sworn in at APTAC’s annual membership meeting on April 10, 2017 and will serve until April 2019. APTAC’s Board and Committees are comprised entirely of volunteers employed by member PTACs.
Mary started with the NADC PTAC in 2009 as a Supervisory Procurement Specialist, moving to the role of Program Manager in July of 2012. The service areas covered by the PTAC include Indian reservations in Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota. Prior to that, Mary worked for a number of years in her father’s Engineering, Surveying and Planning firm located on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana. The firm has been in business now for 40+ years and has completed projects on 17 reservations in 6 states. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Yellowstone County where she is helping to place a BBBS program on an Indian reservation in Montana. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology.
APTAC is the professional organization of and for the 98 Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) awarded under the Department of Defense’s Procurement Technical Assistance Program. These PTACs, located across the United States (including Alaska, Hawaii and the District of Columbia as well as the territories of Puerto Rico and Guam) help local businesses become capable government contractors, on the belief that a broad base of small business suppliers provides the highest quality and best value to our government agencies and at the same time creates a strong and vibrant economic base for our communities. They assist small businesses by offering training events, bid-matching services, one-on-one sessions with a procurement counselor, notification of important contracting changes, help with understanding government contracting procedures and requirements, guidance in registering with the federal government, and much more. They assist government agencies by locating and educating the contractors and potential contractors which can provide the products and services they need.
APTAC supports the PTACs by providing them critical updates on the ever changing procurement processes across all federal agencies; comprehensive training opportunities and certification to ensure that PTAC staff can bring the highest level of capability to their work; networking forums so that PTAC professionals across the country can share best practices and draw upon their collective expertise; and a national presence to collaborate with federal agencies on small business contracting initiatives and otherwise provide a voice in national government contracting assistance and policy arenas. The work of APTAC is carried out by a cadre of dedicated volunteers, all of whom are procurement professionals employed by member PTACs, and supported by a small administrative staff.
For help with Government Contracting: contact your nearest Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC). Funded through Cooperative Agreements between the U.S. Department of Defense and state and local governments/institutions, PTACs provide free and low-cost assistance in virtually all areas of government contracting.