Vice President, Contracts and Procurement, Provider Affairs Ombudsman
Jessica Rodriguez, Vice President of Contracts and Procurement is a Florida Certified Public Manager with 19 years’ experience in contracting and procuring State of Florida publicly funded behavioral health services. Ms. Rodriguez’s contract and procurement career began at the Florida Department of Children and Families, Southern Region’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Program Office in 2004. At Thriving Mind, she oversees the Contracts and Procurement Department that currently manages approximately $141 million in contracts. Her department manages over 100 contracts and agreements. She is responsible for drafting all procurements, contracts, consulting agreements, memorandum of understanding, business associate agreements, data sharing agreements, and prepares budgets when requested. She participates, and at times, takes the lead in contract negotiations. She reviews and provides feedback on subcontractor’s budgets, develops and approves scope of work and review invoices submitted by vendors and subcontractors. She serves as the Single Point of Contact for person’s and/or companions with disabilities and limited English proficiency that need auxiliary aids to be able to communicate effectively during meetings and events at Thriving Mind. In 2018, she began her work as the Procurement Manager to a competitive procurement process that selected a general contractor for the renovation of a vacant hospital to a state-of-the-art mental health diversion facility for individuals diverted from the criminal justice system in Miami-Dade County. In her eleven (11) years at Thriving Mind, she has never had a solicitation successfully challenged by an agency.