Business Advocate: Marleise K. Wicker

Marleise K. Wicker
Small & Emerging Business Coordinator
Franklin County Board of Commissioners 

Marleise Wicker is the Small and Emerging Business Enterprise Coordinator with Franklin County, Board of Commissioners. Her primary focus is to provide Small and Emerging Businesses the opportunity to do business with the 13 Board of Commissioner agencies, 42 independently elected officials and 39 appointed boards, commissioners and committees within Franklin County. These agencies purchase goods and services through various sources; Quotes, Invitations to Bid (ITBs), Requests for Proposal (RFP), State-Term contracts, Cooperative Purchasing contracts (Co-Op).

With Marleise’s guidance the County SEBE program is geared to improve and enhance the competitive and non-competitive bid process within the County. This program is a commitment to the small and emerging businesses to encourage competition and provide and even playing field for all businesses. Along with the commitment of the Franklin County Board of Commissioners to increase opportunities for Small & Emerging Business Enterprise (SEBE) firms of utilization within three (3) spend categories, Goods and Services, Construction & Professional Services.

Prior to joining the County, Marleise spent over 15 years in small, disadvantaged & minority business enterprise programs with the State of Ohio, Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA). During her tenure, Marleise oversaw the supportive services program, contract compliance, goal setting, federal reporting, outreach and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) certification.

Marleise, a native of Columbus, Ohio and holds a Certified Compliance Administrator certification from Morgan State University and earned her bachelor’s degree in management from Ohio Dominican University.

One of her favorite Quotes: “People will forget what you said, People will forget what you did, but People will never forget how you made them feel” – Maya Angelou 

Editor’s Note:  Look for Marliese’s County Corner column in further issues of OhioMBE.

Printed in OhioMBE – Oct. 15, 2018. pdf

 

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