The Many Faces of OU PTAC

Sharon Hopkins is the Director of the Ohio University Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), which is part of the Center for Entrepreneurship (a partnership between the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs and College of Business). As director, she manages six of the state’s PTAC offices. Sharon participates in, conducts and facilitates seminars on multiple topics relating to business and government contracting. Her region consists of 55 Ohio counties with offices located in Akron, Athens, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton and Lancaster. Sharon works closely with PTAC staff, economic development entities and government agencies to promote small business in the region. Sharon has collected an immense amount of knowledge about the procurement field during her 20 years of experience. Sharon is a graduate of Marietta College, where she majored in Management. She is a certified counselor for the Center for Veterans Enterprise (CVE), and maintains a Level II Associate Contracting Assistance Specialist (ACAS) certification with the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC). In service to her community Sharon has won two elections to fill a seat on the Warren Local Board of Education and was an appointed representative to the Washington County Career Center Board of Education. Sharon was born and raised in southeastern Ohio where she still lives with her husband and extended family.

Rich Delisio has served in the Ohio Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) since 2009. As the Akron Procurement Specialist he serves 10 counties – Ashland, Carroll, Holmes, Jefferson, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas, and Wayne. Rich received both his MBA and BSBA from Youngstown State University (YSU). Rich has more than 25 years of Business Management experience, 12 of which he directed the Material Management (Purchasing) Department at YSU. Rich resides in Boardman, Ohio, with his wife Christine, and they have one son, Mark.

Tony Griffin

Shanda Harris is a Procurement Specialist with the Ohio University Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC). She manages the Columbus office and provides technical assistance, business and government contracting consulting, and training services to companies throughout a 10 county region in the greater Columbus metropolitan area. Before joining PTAC, Shanda gained more than 12 years combined experience in Entrepreneurial and Business Development assistance with the Small Business Development Center, as well as from teaching, and serving as a sales supervisor. She is a certified counselor with the Department of Veterans Affairs Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE), maintains a Level II Associate Contracting Assistance Specialist Certification (ACAS) with the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC), and has her Level I Federal Contractor Certification (FCC) from the Defense Acquisition University (DAU). Shanda also holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Tennessee State University.

Bill Cox is a procurement counselor for the Ohio University Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) in Dayton. Prior to assuming this position in 2013, Bill directed the Southwest OU PTAC, served in the U.S. Air Force for 26 years, worked as a defense contractor, director of operations and business development manager; and led the development and implementation of large information technology systems. He has more than 15 years of experience in government procurement and is certified as a Level III program manager in the Department of Defense Acquisition Professional Development program.

Mike Blythe is the Procurement Counselor at the recently established (May 2013) PTAC at Ohio University, Lancaster Ohio. He has more than 30 years of leadership, management and security experience with the United States Air Force. After retiring from the Pentagon, he worked for four years in Afghanistan as a defense contractor, followed by two years as a management consultant for a major defense contractor, where he was a key participant in several multi-million dollar DoD contract proposals. Mike has a BS in International Politics from the U.S. Air Force Academy, an MA in International Relations, Masters in Public Administration, Masters Certificate in Government Contracting, and is pursuing a PhD in Political Science at Ohio State University. Additionally, his professional military education includes Squadron Officer School (Distinguished Graduate), Air Command and Staff College, Royal Air Force Staff College in the United Kingdom, and National Defense Fellow at Boston University. He is currently pursuing DAU Level 3 certification.