Purchasing and Risk Management Division Contact Information

Merry Celeste CPPB, CPM 
Division Director, Purchasing and Risk Management

PURCHASING MAIN PHONE: (727) 464-3311
Purchasing department webpage

RISK MANAGEMENT MAIN PHONE: (727) 464-3664
riskmgmt@pinellas.gov

Responsible for all competitive procurements, non-compete agreements, emergencies, piggybacks, cooperatives, Tampa Bay Purchasing Cooperative, County P-card oversight, all vendor relations for all Board of County Commissioner departments, all appointing authorities, and some procurements for constitutional offices; countywide insurance program, certificate of insurance tracking and review for all County contracts (purchasing and non-purchasing contracts); general liability claims, property claims, and auto liability claims for the County, workers’ compensation for the entire County, including the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (but not including the Clerk of the Circuit Court).

Paige Brutus, CPPB
Manager, Purchasing Operations

(727) 464-3151
pbrutus@pinellas.gov

Manager of Formal Bid Process, including but not limited to Requests for Proposal (RFP) and Invitation to Bid (ITB) competitive procurement processes; Manager of Procurement Analyst Coordinators and Leads

Sarah Janssen, CPPB
Manager, Purchasing Support

(727) 464-5323
sjanssen@pinellas.gov

Manager of P-Card Program and Informal Invitation to Quote competitive process; Manager of Support Staff (p-cards and change orders to POs) and Procurement Analyst Assistants

Purchasing Support

Natalie Ryburn
Purchasing Systems Coordinator
(727) 453-3011
nryburn@pinellas.gov

Rocky Luoma
Administrative Support Specialist
(727) 453-4101
rluoma@pinellas.gov
Agenda Item Coordinator / Front Desk

Victor Morales
Administrative Support Specialist 1
(727) 464-5140
vmorales@pinellas.gov

Purchasing Technical Support

OpenGov technical support and development, Oracle support, SharePoint support

William Lawrentz, CPPB
Sr. Application Analyst
(727) 464-4140
wlawrentz@pinellas.gov

William Harvey
Department Computer Support Technician
(727) 464-5139
wharvey@pinellas.gov

Procurement Analyst Coordinators and Leads

Procurement Analyst Coordinators and Leads (General description of responsibilities) All contracts over $100,000 annually and contracts under $100,000 annually that require an Agreement, as well as all BTS items.

Procurement Analyst Leads

Jim Just, CPPB
Lead
(727) 464-3205
jjust@pinellas.gov

Request for Proposals for:
Consultants’ Competitive Negotiation Act (CCNA) – Continuing and Non-Continuing Contracts Technology, Coastal, and Safety and Emergency Services
Convention and Visitors Bureau
Safety & Emergency Services
*RFP Team Lead

Patricia Cortez
Lead
(727) 464-3766
pcortez@pinellas.gov

Request for Proposals for:
Banking & Bonding
Auditing
Human Resources
Insurance Services
Legal & Government Services
Human Services
Utilities

Pamela Ulrich
Lead
(727) 464-3150
plulrich@pinellas.gov

Invitation to Bids and Request for Proposals for:
Consultants’ Competitive Negotiation Act (CCNA) – Continuing and Non-Continuing Contracts for Utilities, Public Works and SBE CCNA Program
Revenue
*CCNA Team Lead
*Small Business Enterprise Liaison How to Do Business Liaison

Alexander Meloy, CPPB
Lead
(727) 464-3147
almeloy@pinellas.gov

Request for Proposals for:
Consultants’ Competitive Negotiation Act (CCNA) – Continuing and Non-Continuing Contracts including Design Build for Administrative Services, Facilities and Real Property, and Parks, and Solid Waste
Public Works
Solid Waste
Sale or Lease of Property
St. Pete Clearwater Airport
Telecommunications

Kim Meador
Lead
(727) 464-3148
klmeador@pinellas.gov

All procurements pertaining to Business Technology Services

Procurement Analyst Coordinators

Michelle Jurek
Coordinator
(727) 464-4382
mjurek@pinellas.gov

Invitation to Bids for:
Construction including JOC all departments

Bob Sharpe
Coordinator
(727) 464-3146
bsharpe@pinellas.gov

Invitation to Bids:
Animal Services
Courts & Govt.
Parks Conservation & Resources
Public Works

Thomas (Tom) Russell
Coordinator
(727) 464-3154
torussell@pinellas.gov

Invitation to Bids for:
Advertising Services
Janitorial Services & Supplies
Office Supplies
Printing Services
Security Guard Services
Uniforms

Gayle May
Coordinator
(727) 464-3795
gmay@pinellas.gov

Invitation to Bids for:
Conventional & Visitors Bureau
Construction (Back up)                                                    
Solid Waste
Tax Collector

Jason O’Toole, CPPB
Coordinator
(727) 464-4104
jo’toole@pinellas.gov

Invitation to Bids and Request for Proposals for:
Air Quality Monitoring Services
Building Maintenance & Services
Electrical Supplies & Services
Fire Protection Equipment, Services & Supplies
Landscaping & Maintenance Services

Sharon Beacht
Coordinator
(727) 464-5255
sbeacht@pinellas.gov

Invitation to Bids for:
Human Services
Medical Examiner
Safety & Emergency Services

Procurement Analyst Assistants

Most Contracts under $100,000 annually that do not require an Agreement.

Brenda Leigh
Assistant
(727) 464-4336
baleigh@pinellas.gov

Human Resources
Human Services
Human Rights
Solid Waste
Public Works
Planning
Housing & Community Development

John Lawson 
Assistant 
(727) 464-4106
jlawson@pinellas.gov

Administrative Services (Facilities & Real Property, Purchasing & Risk, Fleet/Safety) 
Countywide Contacts
Communications

Kelsey Kingsbury 
Assistant 
(727) 464 3149 
kkingsbury@pinellas.gov

Animal Services
Convention and Visitors Bureau
Medical Examiner
Office of Management and Budget
Parks and Conservation Resources 
Resilience and Asset   Management

Lori Patrick
Assistant
(727) 464-5160
lpatrick@pinellas.gov

County Administration
County Attorney
Economic Development
Emergency Management
Employee Relations and Workforce
Safety and Emergency Services
St. Pete Clearwater Airport
Circuit & County Court
Public Defender
State Attorney

Thomas Royster
Assistant
(727) 464-4246
TRoyster@pinellas.gov

Construction Services
Contractor Licensing
Utilities

Risk Management

MAIN PHONE NUMBER (727) 464-3664
400 S. Ft. Harrison Ave., First Floor
Purchasing and Risk Management Division

Contractual Risk Transfer & Insurance

Rick Kahler
Insurance Manager – Manager for countywide insurance program
(727) 464-5294
rkahler@pinellas.gov

Laura Averill
Insurance Technician
(727) 464-5295
laverill@pinellas.gov

Valerie Edmons
Insurance Analyst
(727) 464-5292
vedmons@pinellas.gov

Claims

Keith Bentley
Claims Manager – Manager for countywide general liability claims handling
(727) 464-3221
kbentley@pinellas.gov

Bryan Best
Claims Adjuster
(727) 464-8430
bbest@pinellas.gov

Tiffany King
Claims Support Specialist
(727) 464-4756
taking@pinellas.gov

Sean Bolohan
Claims Adjuster (727) 464-3952
sbolohan@pinellas.gov