By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
If you work for a state government agency in Washington or a business that does business with the government, the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services (DES) is your one-stop shop for all your procurement needs.
With more than 900 employees across diverse business lines, DES provides cost-effective centralized business services to state government agencies. Their mission is to strengthen the business of government for a sustainable and just future by creating operational efficiencies, allowing government entities to focus on their core missions. To carry out its mission effectively, DES leverages its buying power, economies of scale, and years of experience to help government organizations get the best value for the products and services they need.
DES Director Tara C. Smith, appointed by Governor Jay Inslee in September 2021, oversees the organization’s $1.2 billion capital program and its $280 million operating budget. This includes centralized procurement, facilities management, real estate, printing and mailing, surplus equipment disposition, public works capital projects, risk management, fleet management, workforce support and development, care and custody of the country’s largest state capitol campus, and support for small agencies.
“DES supports other state agencies and their business operations,” says Smith. “But it’s much more than that. We touch many services and people, both physically on the Capitol campus and in the hearts and minds of state employees through our training programs.”
“It can be hard for folks to appreciate the magnitude of our work,” adds Smith.
As the leader of the agency, Smith aims to maintain the business of government and sustain a just future within DES.
“My goal is to continue this internal work around our organizational culture,” says Smith. “So that our mission of strengthening the business of government for a sustainable and just future actually become something that we can achieve.”
“When I got here our mission statement consisted of ‘strengthening the business of government’, right? That’s a very obvious way to describe the type of work that we do. But we added as a leadership team recently the wordage ‘a sustainable and just future’ because we want our employees to know and relate to that long term impact that they have on the way government works,” add Smith.
Under Smith’s leadership, DES has pivoted its training curriculum to address equity and inclusion, focusing on four modules: racism as a foundation, racism as a structure, the cost of othering, and the importance of belonging.
“Equity and inclusion play a vital role across state government, with our employees and through our training,” says Smith. “Other agencies come to us for their security and their employee development needs. Everything from mandatory supervisory training to more advanced leadership training, all the different types of professional development that agencies provide to their employees, they get it from us from DES.”
Dr. Adrian Thompson, Chief Equity Officer of DES, says that training provided by DES’ plays a significant role in developing equity and inclusion policies for many other state departments.
“Training is an essential part of making Executive Orders tangible, real, and effective for state employees. Our role is a vital one in establishing effective statewide policy,” says Thompson. “Three other areas of focus are our Leading Others training so emerging leaders are better equipped with leadership skills for an equitable and inclusive workplace; Plain Language training so our communication is centered around the needs of recipients in the community; and Mitigating Bias in Hiring to include criteria for removing barriers for traditionally marginalized people.”
Tara Smith has over 20 years of leadership and management experience in the public sector. Before joining DES, she was the Director of the Internal Services Department for Miami-Dade County, Florida, where she led one of the county’s largest operational agencies. She spearheaded the first social infrastructure public-private partnership project in the southeast region and established the county’s first public-private partnership office for critical infrastructure development.
Smith is a dedicated mentor and advocate for social justice, equity, and inclusion of minorities, and women in leadership roles. She earned her bachelor’s degree in social work and a Master of Public Administration from Florida International University, where she recently received the Public Service Distinguished Alumni Award. She is also certified by the Project Management Institute.
“Tara is no stranger to running a large, complex government department, and I have no doubt that she will hit the ground running here in Washington,” Governor Inslee said. “She has a proven track record of developing inclusive teams and ensuring effective government service.”
Tara lives in Pierce County with her wife, Monica. She spends most of her free time volunteering and enjoys yoga, being a certified yoga teacher.
“I have been a public servant my entire career,” says Smith. “I am not one of those people who just kind of stumbled into public service. I was really intentional. I literally remember going through the course catalog for my master’s degree program and choosing between do I want to keep doing social work? Do I want to do business? And then I found public administration and it clicked for me and I knew that that was where my heart could soar, and I could really do that for the rest of my life.”