Meet the Buyer Procurement Forum 2024 Program

PRESENTS THE 16TH ANNUAL

MEET THE BUYER

PROCUREMENT FORUM THURSDAY, DEC. 5, 2024 GEORGE R. BROWN CONVENTION CENTER

123 Anywhere St., Any City, ST 12345

2 0 2 2024 4

Registration Welcome Remarks City of Houston Representative

Opening Remarks Cylenthia Hoyrd, OBO Director

8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

9:00 a.m.

9:05 a.m.

CenterPoint Energy Camille Alfaro, Manager of Supplier Diversity and Inclusion

9:10 a.m.

Keynote Speaker Dr. Esmaeil Porsa, Harris Health

9:15 a.m.

Closing Remarks Cylenthia Hoyrd, OBO Director

9:28 a.m.

Exhibitor Hall Opens

9:30 a.m.

SBA’s Access to Capital Workshop Bobby Bilberry

9:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.

Blue Wave Business Development Bootcamp Eduardo Nunez

10:25 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Doing Business with Harris Health Tamala Austin

11:10 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.

CYLENTHIA

HOYRD

OFFICE OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY Cylenthia Hoyrd, a native of Birmingham, Alabama who has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a minor in Business Management from Talladega College, and a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Human Services from Northern Illinois University.

Her career began in Chicago Illinois as a Program Monitor for the Illinois Department of Public Health providing technical assistance and training to non-profits offering public health case management.

She worked as a Director of their Early Childhood Education and Maternal Child Health for Catholic Charities, successfully managing the largest Head Start program in the City of Chicago and the first WIC immunization program for the Chicago Dept. of Public Health. Cylenthia was hired by the Chicago Housing Authority as the Chief of Resident Programs where she revamped resident services by converting workforce development, resident owned business, and family support services for its 25,000 residents to a one-stop Service Connector Model.

In 2000 Cylenthia was appointed by the Mayor of Chicago to Assistant Commissioner for the Mayor’s Senior Initiatives at the Chicago Department on Aging. At the helm of the Mayor’s Senior Initiatives, she led the design construction and opening of ten award-winning Senior Satellite Centers, developed affordable single-family housing for grandparents raising their grandchildren, and developed a comprehensive senior well-being plan for disaster in a city serving over 200,000 seniors.

In 2007 as a Project Lead for the Georgia SHINES Portal she developed training materials and planned and implemented training for 72 counties for the State of Georgia Department of Human Services. Cylenthia became an Adjunct Professor in Grant Writing and Community Assessment for the University of Phoenix.

Ms. Hoyrd joined the Houston Public Library as an Administration Manager leading projects like the Broadbannd Technology Opportunity Program, a library and community college partnership, and Cafecollege Houston a college access center that under her management helped make college attendance a reality for over 1,200 students in its first year. She founded a consulting firm in 2017 that provides professional business consulting and government grant services to clients all across the United States.

Most reccently, Cylenthia was the grant writer and lead for staff engagement programs for the pharmacy and lab departments at Harris Health System.

Service to God and her community are very important to Cylenthia. She works with the Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in the Avenues to Employment ministry to support workforce development and career changes; the Prayer Ministry where she intercedes on behalf of those needing prayer; the Divorce Care Ministry that helps people map out their lives after divorce; and the Social Justice Ministry advocating for criminal justice reform. She founded the LeadHer Tour a women’s empowerment network that convenes successful Black women from across the country to network, learn, and grow together. In 2021 Cylenthia became the Houston Chapter coordinator for Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice. In this role she advocates for safe neighborhoods in Houston, supports crime survivors with counseling opportunities and events to celebrate their survival.

She is the mother of four beautiful daughters who are the joy of her life.

CAMILLE

ALFARO CENTERPOINT ENERGY

Camille Alfaro serves as the Manager of Supplier Diversity and Inclusion at CenterPoint Energy, where she fosters partnerships with diverse businesses and connects them to the company’s procurement process. With a rich professional background spanning marketing, community engagement, and program management, Camille brings a dynamic perspective to her role.

Her career began in the sports and entertainment industry, where she drove brand loyalty through innovative strategies, impactful outreach, and memorable experiences. Camille earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and a Master of Arts in Kinesiology with a focus on Sport Management from Sam Houston State University, where she also excelled as a four-year volleyball letter winner.

Outside of work, Camille loves exploring the world through sports, travel, and quality time with her family.

ESMAEIL

PORSA

HARRIS HEALTH

Dr. Esmaeil Porsa serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer for Harris Health, which is a community-focused, academic and safety-net healthcare system dedicated to improving the health of those most in need in Harris County, Texas, through quality care delivery, coordination of care, and education.

Harris Health operates 45 community-based clinics, health centers and specialty locations and two trauma hospitals: Ben Taub Hospital (Level I) and Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital (Level III). The system provides high-quality care and treatment for nearly 1.4 million outpatient visits and more than 36,000 hospital cases each year with an operating budget of $2.9 billion.

Prior to him joining Harris Health in 2020, Dr. Porsa served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Integration Officer at Parkland Health and Hospital System where he had worked since 2007 in different capacities including the Medical Director of the Dallas County Jail Health program, Associate Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President for Professional and Academic Affairs and Interim Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Porsa completed a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and chemistry at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio before earning his medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center Medical School in San Antonio. He completed his training in internal medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston where he also served as the Chief Medical Resident. Dr. Porsa completed a Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health as well as a fellowship program in primary care at the UTHSC-Houston medical school in 2005. Dr. Porsa obtained his MBA degree in Health Care Leadership from University of Texas in Dallas in 2017.

Dr. Porsa has a special interest in improving community health through addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) and health care delivery in correctional setting. He currently serves as the Vice Chair for the Texas Commission on Jail Standards and is a member of the Certified Correctional Health Care Professional Board of Trustees for the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC).

BOBBY

BILBERRY SBA

Bobby Bilberry is a fourth generation Texan who was raised in West Texas and graduated from Texas Tech University with a BBA in Finance and a minor in accounting. He has over 34 years of experience as a lender working in Financial Analysis, Personal Lending, Commercial Lending, Loan Review, SBA Lending, and SBA Servicing, and Portfolio Management. He has worked in the Houston area with several SBA lenders since 2003. He joined the SBA Houston District Office in November of 2019 just before the pandemic. He is the Lead Lender Relations Specialist in the Houston District Office and helps area lenders with any issues from the SBA Lending Programs.He also works to help the local lenders by providing training on new loan programs or changes to the existing SBA Loan Programs.

He also helps new entrepreneurs and business owners with training to start and expand their businesses.

EDUARDO

NUNEZ

BLUE WAVE INTERNATIONAL Eduardo Nunez has 42 years of corporate experience and an additional 5 years as a business owner and entrepreneur.

He earned both his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electronic Engineering from the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology, where he excelled as the valedictorian. He also completed post-graduate studies in International Management and Global Leadership at IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Eduardo’s professional journey began at IBM Argentina, where he spent the first 12 years of his career in engineering and marketing roles.

In 1988, Eduardo joined Exxon Corporation in Argentina, where he initially served as Information Systems Manager and then as Procurement Manager. His international career started in 1995. He served as the Director of Procurement in Exxon Europe (based in Brussels, Belgium), as the Procurement Executive with Exxon Japan (based in Tokyo), and as the Director of Procurement for ExxonMobil for the Americas (based in Houston). His final role was as the General Manager of ExxonMobil Global Procurement Operations, also based in Houston.

In March 2018, Eduardo retired from ExxonMobil, receiving Life Achievement Award.

Eduardo is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum and a graduate of the Center for Houston’s Future. His commitment to community service is evident through his chairmanship of the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council (HMSDC) and his 15-year tenure as a board member.

Additionally, he served as President of the Argentina-Texas Chamber of Commerce.

Currently, Eduardo contributes as a member of the Executive Advisory Board of the Institute of Supply Management – Houston Chapter.

Eduardo co-founded Blue Wave International SDP Corporation in 2019, a company dedicated to fostering diverse suppliers in the United States and local suppliers in developing countries.

On a personal note, Eduardo has been happily married to Adriana for 40 years. Together, they have two married children, Santiago and Maria, and three cherished grandchildren.

TAMALA

AUSTIN

HARRIS HEALTH

Tamala Austin, Business Equity Outreach Manager, is known for her collaborative leadership, proactive approach, and ability to simplify complex ideas.

Passionate about entrepreneurship, she inspires others, especially women, to pursue business goals and foster a culture of innovation. Austin coaches teams and individuals to bridge the gap between theory and practice, emphasizing that success is achievable with the right tools.

With expertise in entrepreneurship, finance, recruiting, and certification, Austin has held several director and advisor roles leading programs that support women’s academic and entrepreneurial success.

THANK YOU

FOR ATTENDING Connect With Us! @HoustonOBO @Houston_OBO

Helpful Links: @HoustontxOBO @HoustonOBO

For more information, visit the Office of Business Opportunity’s website: www.houstontx.gov/obo/

Certification/Contract Compliance Hotline: 832-393-0600

For information on doing business with the City of Houston and information on registering as a vendor with the City, please visit: http://purchasing. houstontx.gov/ guides.html