Marcheta Gillespie
Director of Procurement, City of Tucson
Marcheta E. Gillespie, CPPO, CPPB, C.P.M., CPM, is the Director for the City of Tucson's Department of Procurement. With 24 years of experience in public procurement, Marcheta is a passionate advocate for her profession. Her areas of expertise include organizational leadership, strategic planning, public sector contracting, project management, program development, marketing, cooperative procurement, training and public speaking. Marcheta was the 2013-2014 President of NIGP - The Institute for Public Procurement, and served on the Board of Directors for 10 years. She was the first Chair of the NIGP Talent Council and Chair of the NIGP 2.0 Task Force, an historic project of governance model transformation. She has also chaired the NIGP Task Force for the Values & Guiding Principles Initiative, the NIGP Forum Committee and the NIGP Governance Committee. She has been an active leader and member of the NIGP Southern Arizona Copper Chapter since 1991. Marcheta has spoken and trained at hundreds of international, national, regional and local conferences and events. She has developed numerous training programs and has written for national procurement publications. Marcheta has been an NIGP Master Certified Instructor as well as a professional consultant for the NIGP consulting program. In 2009, Marcheta was selected as the NIGP Copper Chapter Manager of the Year. Marcheta has worked many years in youth development through sports programs, church and various schools. She has served on the Board of Directors for Marana Little League and has volunteered for numerous organizations in her community. She and her husband of 22 years, Allen, now own a small business specializing in baseball and softball training. Marcheta and Allen have 3 beautiful children, Makayla, Garrett and Felicia and reside in Tucson, Arizona.