Barber continues education leadership
June 21, 2017: The Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC) is pleased to announce that Debbie Barber, of the University of Tennessee Procurement Technical Assistance Center, has been appointed as Vice President for Education of the Association, with responsibility for the association’s continuing education and certification programs, including two national training conferences each year. Previously chair of APTAC’s Education Committee, she will serve in this new position until April of 2018. APTAC’s Board and Committees are comprised entirely of volunteers employed by member PTACs.
Barber has been devoted to helping small businesses for over twenty years. She spent nine years as procurement specialist with, and then Program Manager of, the Greater Columbus (OH) Chamber of Commerce PTAC. She then served as director of certification for the Women’s Business Enterprise Council – Southeast (WBEC-SE) before moving to Tennessee to join the University of Tennessee PTAC in 2007, where she is currently a PTAC Consultant. She has also worked for the WBEC-South in Tennessee and been an active member of Women for Economic Leadership and Development (WELD) and with local chapters of the National Contract Management Association (NCMA) in both Ohio and Tennessee. She has a BS in Business and a Master of Strategic Leadership in addition to APTAC’s Certified Contracting Assistance Specialist and Certified Procurement Professional (CPP) Certifications.
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.