Presley Palmer, who oversees Citywide purchasing and contracting for the Department of Finance and Administrative Services (FAS), has been recognized with one of the highest honors given annually by Tabor 100, an association of entrepreneurs and business advocates who are committed to economic power, educational excellence and social equity for African-Americans and the community at large.
Presley, division director of FAS’ Purchasing and Contracting division, received the Crystal Eagle Award for Excellence in Equity and Inclusion from Tabor 100 during their annual awards ceremony. The award recognizes the leadership of individuals who work to create partnerships across cultural, economic, social, political, geographic or educational boundaries.
“The Crystal Eagle symbolizes strength, vision, and determination and represents the highest level of recognition and appreciation that our organization can bestow,” according to Tabor 100.
Presley was nominated and recognized for his ability to look at how the City can support women- and minority-owned businesses (WMBEs) both from a systems level and from a one person at a time level.
“In the morning of any given day, Presley could be in a conversation looking at how to increase WMBE spending through analysis of data trends disaggregated by race/ethnicity. In the afternoon, Presley could be at Tabor 100 talking with a small business owner about how their firm can get engaged with City business,” said FAS Acting Department Director Kiersten Grove in her nomination letter to Tabor. “Presley understands that we need both approaches to succeed: systems change and human connection.”
Presley has served as Division Director for Purchasing and Contracting since February 2023 – but he’s worked at the City of Seattle since 1997, starting in the IT warehouse and then steadily moving up the ranks over the past 20-plus years. During the past 10 years with the Purchasing and Contracting division, Presley has become a technical expert with a demonstrated passion for advancing equitable and effective purchasing and contracting.
Since taking the helm of the PC division, Presley has directed a number of key partnerships and projects. He led a partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Harvard Kennedy School to transform procurement to make it easier for businesses to work with the City. He and his team are also working with departments on how to push their WMBE spending goals to the next level. He reorganized Purchasing and Contracting to elevate the WMBE Program – part of his workload is direct, daily engagement with the program. He’s supporting critical City programs that support WMBEs – from technical assistance services to outreach and education. These are just a few examples of how Presley daily works to create partnerships across cultural, economic, social, political, geographic or educational boundaries.
Congratulations, Presley, on the well-deserved recognition!
View all award winners, including Mayor Bruce Harrell who was recognized with Tabor’s Legacy Hall of Fame achievement.