LaVonia Horne-Williams

An effective, well-versed leader in the field of procurement, LaVonia Horne-Williams has more than 20 years of experience in managing teams, operations, and personnel at the local, state government and non-profit and school district levels. An expert at deciphering and sustaining value through competitive sourcing and change management, LaVonia is committed to the development of lean, strategic processes to help facilitate professional procurement. Her leadership strategy is to plan for change, drive performance, and cultivate a people-first culture of engagement and accountability.

Joining Austin ISD a year ago as the Construction Procurement Manager, she leads a team of professionals. LaVonia has worked to implement procurement best practices and processes to bring structure, compliance and agility to procurement at Austin ISD. 

She received a B.A. from California State University East Bay, an M.A. from Texas State University, and is a Certified Texas Contract Manager. At the event, LaVonia will deliver a discussion on procurement challenges, solutions, and strategies.

Dinita Caldwell

Ms. Caldwell is a supplier diversity professional with a career that spans more than fourteen years and includes diversity, equity, and inclusion work. 

Currently, Ms. Caldwell serves as the director of the Historically Underutilized Business Program with the Austin Independent School District where she focuses on equity in contracting for all current and future bonds in the construction and professional services industries. In this role, she supports project managers and partners by developing and executing strategies to increase opportunities for minority, and woman-owned small businesses as participants in Austin ISD’s competitive contracting and procurement process. She collaborates with Construction Management and Contracts and Procurement professionals to create strategic plans to increase diverse spend and count, negotiates the diversity contract goals for General Contractors, and supports executive management and program staff.  

She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University and earned her Master of Business Administration with a concentration in international business from Huston-Tillotson University. 

David Knapp

David is a licensed Architect and graduate of Texas A&M University with a master’s degree in Architecture. Over twenty years of Architecture and project management experience, he has acquired a strong background in the conception, design, and construction of projects of many different scales and types. David currently serves as a Sr. project manager in the Construction Management Department at Austin ISD. 

Mason Crenshaw

Mason Crenshaw is a results-oriented professional with extensive experience across multiple industries including procurement, logistics, manufacturing, event planning, financial services, IT security, IT development, & technical services.  He is a highly creative solutions provider with a consistent track-record of providing multimillion dollar efficiency gains.  He currently serves as the assistant director of procurement for the Austin Independent School District.
Crenshaw obtained his bachelor’s in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Travis Maese

Travis Maese is the Regional Sales Director for TASB Business Services, which includes BuyBoard, TASB Energy Cooperative, and Facilities Services in Central Texas. 

With nearly a decade at TASB, at both the BuyBoard (TX) and the National BuyBoard programs, Travis has a wealth of cooperative purchasing experience in the public procurement sector. 
Prior to joining TASB, Travis led procurement efforts at New Mexico State University and Austin ISD. 
He holds a BA in marketing from NMSU, and most recently served as the Assistant National Sales Director for the BuyBoard National Purchasing Cooperative. 

Travis is passionate about leading teams and engaging with customers to solve their most challenging business problems. 
When he isn’t working, Travis enjoys traveling abroad, paddleboarding on Town Lake and spending time with family and friends.