Her Story
About Becky
I've been in the contracts and procurement industry for 13 years, and I currently serve as Procurement Manager for El Paso County, a position I've held for just over a year and a half. In my role, I oversee six procurement specialists who service all the departments within the county, from the sheriff's office and jail to Public Health, Department of Human Services, Parks Division, Department of Public Works, and facilities. Each procurement specialist has a dedicated department, and I oversee their work while also training and onboarding all new employees. I'm responsible for initiating new training programs and ensuring we have up-to-date training materials. I partner with our finance group on strategic planning for the whole county, help improve and streamline processes, and work to take us more digital as we catch up with technology. I also give input on policies like the AI policy for the county and oversee the implementation of contracts with procurement policy and procedures. Day-to-day, I'm putting out fires, addressing issues, helping my specialists with their workloads, and ensuring that all of our customers, both internal and our taxpayers, have their needs met and services are provided for them. My journey into procurement began when my husband, who is retired Air Force, was stationed at Lakenheath, England. Spouse jobs there were scarce, and I really wanted to start developing my professional career since our kids were older and we'd traveled the world together. A contracting position opened with the 48 Force Support Squadron, and I decided to give it a try. Before that, when I was much younger, I went to school and became an LPN because I really enjoyed helping people in the healthcare industry. I've stuck with procurement because even though we're not seen as much, in the background we're still providing all these necessary services for the citizens of El Paso County, so I feel like I still get to help but in an environment where I can work-life balance a lot better. I've been with the county for 9 years and have advanced from procurement specialist one to two to three to lead, and now procurement manager, which I feel is rather quick advancement and shows that my hard work and dedication has paid off.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Becky
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think what's made me successful is not having it all figured out and really listening to those who are under me. I take their advice on ways we can improve things instead of just thinking I can figure it out myself. I focus on giving my team the skills and tools to do their job in such a great way that it reflects on me as well. We've really developed a culture of learning here, so it's a safe environment to make mistakes and learn from them, and we share that with each other. I think having some personal connections with people, not just business relationships, is important because we spend 40 hours a week together. Getting to know them personally really builds a culture where we're a family, not just coworkers. When people are struggling, we know and we can step in and support and lift each other up. Working from the bottom up, I really wanted to become the leader that I always wished that I had had. I'm not saying I'm perfect or have it all figured out, but I'm really making a conscious effort to think, would I have liked that if I was the worker and that's what management decided? I think that's really shaped the type of leader that I want to become. My hard work and dedication has paid off, which is really nice and rewarding to see that it's noticed and appreciated.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think as women, especially women who are mothers, you're expected to be this 100% perfect mother and then also 100% perfect career woman and try to do it all. But everything takes so much energy, so my advice would be don't be afraid to rely on other people and ask for help. Do the best you can in each role, but give yourself grace as well, because we're not perfect, we're still just human. So it's okay to not be 100% at everything all the time.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Work-life balance is something I'm a big stickler on for my team as well as myself. We have dedicated work hours, and I want them and myself to really stay within those hours because I want people to still be passionate and show up and be energized and not get burnt out. Having those dedicated hours and the mentality of it'll be here tomorrow, go home to your family. When you're on vacation, don't bring your cell phone or anything, we can handle it. Go out, decompress, and then come back ready to go at it 100% again. That's something not only do I push for my team, but I really try to ensure I follow as well, because burnout in this industry is really high just because of the demands. I've set boundaries and really make myself stick to them, because I can be the type of person who thinks, well, let me just do one more thing, but one more thing leads to two more things and before you know it you're here late into the evening. Unless it's an emergency or something, it'll be here tomorrow and I will tackle it then. I also really value helping people. Even though in procurement we're not seen as much, in the background we're still providing all these necessary services for the citizens of El Paso County, so I feel like I still get to help but in an environment where I can work-life balance a lot better.
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