Jessica Patterson, who serves as chief general counsel for the Arkansas Department of Transformation and Shared Services, has been appointed as the director of the Office of State Procurement, the department announced Monday.
She will continue serving as the department's chief general counsel alongside her new appointment, the department said in a news release. In her new role, Patterson will spearhead procurement processes for the state, prioritizing transparency, efficiency, and compliance.
Patterson's salary will increase from $135,000 a year to $157,100 a year, said Alex Johnston, chief of staff for the state Department of Transformation and Shared Services.
She fills the the Office of State Procurement director post that became vacant with the resignation of Ed Armstrong, who left last month to be become associate general counsel for the University of Arkansas System.
Armstrong served as the state procurement director from February 2016 until December 2021 under then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson before becoming general counsel at Arkansas Tech University in January 2022. He returned to the state procurement director post in late February 2023 under Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. He has said his resignation from the post was effective March 22. He was paid $150,000 as director of the Office of State Procurement.
Department of Transformation and Shared Services Secretary Leslie Fisken appointed Patterson as the director of the Office of State Procurement.
"Jessica's leadership and legal experience will be instrumental in advancing our mission to enhance efficiency and accountability," Fisken said in the news release. "I have no doubt that under her guidance, we will achieve remarkable progress."
Patterson said in the new release, "I am deeply honored to continue my service with the state as the Director of the Office of State Procurement. I am excited to lead our talented and dedicated team."
She has been the state Department of Transformation and Shared Services' chief general counsel since October and previously served as a law clerk for the Arkansas Supreme Court from June 2015 to October and as an associate at McCrainie Sistrunk Anzelmo Hardy, McDaniel & Welch LLC in Louisiana from July 2009 to June 2014, according to her Linked-In account. Patterson received her undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia Terry College of Business and her juris doctorate from Tulane University School of Law.
Armstrong's departure and Patterson's appointment come after the Legislative Council in February signed off on the state Department of Transformation and Shared Services' consulting contract with Washington, D.C.-based McKinsey & Co. for up to $5.5 million to help the state's 15 executive branch agencies become more efficient and improve services
The contract with McKinsey & Co. is for one year, and "our priority within this is for the pay plan and the merit evaluation system -- for a recommendation to come to us by June 1," Fisken told a legislative panel in February.
"There are estimates of approximately $500 million in savings; the majority of that is looking specifically at procurement with duplicative contracts [and] renegotiating contracts and also looking at the fleet vehicle management," she said at that time.