Dinita Caldwell

I've had a diverse career journey that has taken me from state government to corporate America and back to public service. I started with the Texas Facilities Commission, then moved to the Texas Department of Agriculture where I had similar responsibilities and also oversaw procurement for a period. I obtained my state procurement certification at that time, which gave me the opportunity to fully understand the full life cycle of business, from engaging with small businesses to solicitations, the bidding process, negotiations, and evaluations from a procurement perspective. This really allowed me to be more effective in my role in advocacy of small businesses. From there, I went to Visa where I was a supplier diversity director on the global sourcing team. I stood up their global supply program - what you see on the website I created. I was also lead project manager over developing the supplier code of conduct there. It was an excellent experience working with technology firms, value-added resellers, and fintech companies, helping smaller companies get their foot in the door and grow their business. But I missed the more intimate kind of dialogue I was able to have being at the state, so I went back to government and that led me to Austin ISD. I was able to transform that program from a hub program to the Economic Opportunity Office because the reach and services we were providing was far beyond just identifying women-owned and smaller firms to do work. We provide technical assistance, outreach strategies, strategic partnerships with businesses, industry organizations, and our campuses. My main area of expertise is understanding people and being a connector. I think we often underestimate the power of relationships and truly hearing and understanding what the need is. That has been my superpower - to really hear these businesses, understand what their need is, and then help them get to their ultimate goal by making the right connections.