Diversity Summit
Moderator Lea Márquez Peterson is Chair of the Arizona Corporation Commission. José Pérez is the CEO of Hispanics in Energy. Juli West is VP of Supply Chain at Arizona Public Service. Jeanine Tracey is Energy Director of Supply Chain at Tucson Electric Power/UNS. Chris Jimenez is Director of Energy Services at Arizona G&T Cooperatives. Jason Bowling is the CEO of Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative. Courtney Moore is Director of DEI and Supplier Diversity at Southwest Gas. Telma Lopez is Manager of Diversity Programs at Southwest Gas. Rebecca Burleigh is VP of Corporate Services at EPCOR USA. Sandra Kennedy is a Commissioner at the Arizona Corporation Commission.
The Second Annual Arizona Corporation Commission Supplier Diversity Summit was held October third and highlighted vendor opportunities for companies across Arizona within the energy, water, and telecommunications infrastructure industries. In addition to utility company presentations, the Commission hosted a Business Expo immediately following the Summit to provide utilities the opportunity to speak directly to diverse companies.
The purpose of the Supplier Diversity Summit was to provide procurement opportunities for women owned, minority owned, and veteran owned businesses. Led by Commission Chair Lea Márquez Peterson, the Summit was attended by too many utility companies to include in these pages. Enjoy these excerpted remarks.
Chair, Arizona Corporation Commission, Lea Márquez Peterson: If you're wondering who we invited to present, we asked our class A and B, the largest electricity, water, and gas companies, telecom firms, and railroad companies. Each company's going to speak about procurement opportunities for your businesses and their level of supplier diversity.
We know much of the effort in supplier diversity is tied to the network you have and create. You'll hear presentations from the companies. It's about how you meet people or get that business card as you head out to do business.