ABOVE PHOTO: Gov. Tom Wolf (Photo: George Sheldon / shutterstock)
Harrisburg, PA – Governor Wolf on Wednesday announced the appointment of Kerry L. Kirkland to serve as the Deputy Secretary for Diversity, Inclusion and Small Business Opportunities in the Pennsylvania Department of General Services.
“We are excited to be bringing Kerry on board in this newly created position that will spearhead the administration’s efforts to improve the state contracting environment for our small diverse and small businesses,” said Governor Tom Wolf. “We are looking forward to using his more than 38 years of experience and involvement with developing policies and programs for small diverse and small businesses to our benefit as we look for innovative ways to position these businesses for success in Pennsylvania’s economy.”
“Diversity, inclusion and small business opportunities are a priority of the Wolf Administration, so much that we have specifically created this position to ensure that programs and policies to expand and improve aid to small diverse and small businesses receive the attention they deserve,” said Department of General Services Secretary Curt Topper.
As Deputy Secretary for Diversity Inclusion and Small Business Opportunities, Kirkland will serve as the senior public official to represent and advise the administration and the department on all matters related to the development of statewide policies and programs to substantially increase the participation of small diverse businesses (SDBs) and small businesses (SBs) in commonwealth contracting and in Pennsylvania’s overall economy.
Kirkland, a native of York, PA, most recently served as the Central Regional Director for the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development where he provided technical assistance to businesses, local governments and non-profit organizations to help revitalize central business districts, urban neighborhoods throughout the 24-county central PA region.
He is the former President/CEO of Kirkland Consulting, a Management and Training firm that specialized in Contract Compliance and Minority Business Enterprise policy and program development. Kirkland served as the Vice President of the National Black Chamber of Commerce where he provided technical assistance and advice to minority owned businesses throughout the nation. He is also the co-founder of the American Contract Compliance Association, the largest contract compliance training organization in the world.
Kirkland also served with the United States Small Business Administration as Associate Deputy Administrator, assisting small businesses in securing approximately $43 billion of the $200 billion awarded in government contracts each year, and as Regional Administrator for the Mid-Atlantic Region – Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and West Virginia – where he managed the region’s 11 offices with 198 permanent employees and a loan portfolio of nearly 13,000 loans totaling more than $1.5 billion.
Kirkland received his Master of Human Services degree from Lincoln University, in 1982. He has the following American Contract Compliance Association Compliance Administration Certifications: Certified Compliance Administrator from Boston University in 1989; and Master Compliance Administrator from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1991.
For more information on the Bureau of Diversity Inclusion and Small Businesses, visit us at: http://www.dgs.pa.gov.
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