Lara Dodson-Tello, MSCJ

Lara Dodson-Tello, MSCJ, is a strategic procurement and compliance professional with more than a decade of experience spanning procurement, contract management, legal compliance, governance, grants management, and program operations. She currently serves as an AFI Senior Procurement Solicitation Manager with the Alliance for Innovation and as a Senior Procurement Program Manager with Civic Marketplace, where she supports cooperative purchasing and strategic sourcing initiatives for public-sector organizations nationwide. In these roles, Lara develops and administers RFPs, coordinates contract negotiations and legal reviews, supports supplier engagement, and helps ensure procurement activities are transparent, compliant, well documented, and audit-ready.

Throughout her career, Lara has worked across government, private-sector, nonprofit, and higher education environments, building a reputation for improving processes and connecting technology with organizational needs. During her time with the City of Dallas, she managed budgeting and compliance for capital, bond, and grant-funded initiatives and contributed to efforts involving artificial intelligence and workplace technology. Earlier in her career, she gained experience in private security and corporate environments, including developing a Homeland Security threat-level plan following 9/11. She also received a director’s award for digitizing records at Dallas Water Administration, demonstrating her longstanding commitment to modernization and operational efficiency.

Lara is also the founder of Innovative Learning & Compliance Solutions LLC, where she provides support in contracts and grants management, governance, compliance, process improvement, digital transformation, and technology adoption. Her professional interests include helping organizations strengthen accountability, reduce risk, streamline workflows, and responsibly incorporate emerging technologies such as AI. She holds a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University and a Bachelor’s in Multidisciplinary Studies with a focus on Legal Studies from the University of Texas at Brownsville. Beyond her professional work, Lara has supported students at Dallas College in overcoming math anxiety, particularly encouraging girls to build confidence in mathematics. Her approach to her career is grounded in ethics, integrity, persistence, and lifelong learning.