Workshop: Maricopa County Vendor University (CATALYST)

Maricopa County Vendor University

Maricopa County buys $750M in goods, services and construction each year. Join us for this event that will provide all you need to know about doing business with the County. 

We'll go over Vendor Registration, finding and responding to bids, and what to do once you've got a contract.

Join us for tips and strategies to find and keep county business!

Facilitated by Ryan Dixon, Kevin Tyne, and Lisa Bernhardt with Maricopa County

Ryan Dixon
Ryan Dixon is the Small Business Advocate for Maricopa County Office of Procurement Services. Ryan leads the Maricopa County Small and Local Business Advocacy Program, helping small and local businesses win county business, and educating county departments on their impactful procurement options. In her time with the county, Ryan has overseen a sharp increase in program participation, represented OPS across the County, and advocated for small business opportunities in local government procurement. Ryan's professional experience prior to OPS, included leading partnerships and media appearances for the Arizona Small Business Association. 
She proudly claims a career history wholly dedicated to serving and uplifting the Arizona small business community.


Kevin Tyne
Kevin Tyne has been the Director of the Maricopa County Office of Procurement since 2016.
Over that time, Kevin has led the agency to many successes including:
- Improved department productivity (OPS is doing more now w/ less staff)
- Expansion of the agency outreach and training efforts (direct interaction to our customers out in the community),
- Added efficiencies to reduce costs and improve services (solicitations are all handled via e-procurement system)
The result:
By 2025, OPS is now more transparent and accessible. The agency recently received several awards including the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award from the National Procurement Institute which recognizes organizational excellence to public and non-profit procurement agencies.
Prior to leading Procurement Services, Kevin previously served as Chief of Staff to former Governor Jan Brewer, Chief of Staff to former Supervisor Andy Kunasek and Supervisor Max Wilson. He was Director of the State Department of Weights and Measures for 5 years, and prior to that Kevin served on Capitol Hill for Senator Bob Dole (KS) and Congresswoman Susan Molinari (NY).


Lisa Bernhardt
With over 25 years of private and public sector finance and procurement management experience Lisa brings a wealth of knowledge about procurement requirements, county processes and industry trends and best practices. Lisa has been certified by the National Institute of Government Purchasing and the Universal Public Procurement Certification Council. Lisa is the County's E-Procurement platform system administrator and has been providing outreach and education to small businesses and county departments in order to spread the word that the county is OPEN FOR BUSINESS. 


This workshop is made possible, in part, by these Foundation Donors:


When you attend this event, you enter an area where photography, audio, and video recording may occur. By attending, you consent to such recording media and its release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction, including but not limited to marketing, promotional purposes, publication, distribution, and public display, without further authorization or compensation.