Rising Star: Former Georgia MBDA Business Center Employee Promoted to Manage State’s Small Business and Supplier Diversity

Department of Administrative Services Names Julian Bailey Small Business and Supplier Diversity Manager 

The Department of Administrative Services (DOAS), State Purchasing Division (SPD) is pleased to announce the promotion of Julian Andrea Bailey to the position of Small Business and Supplier Diversity Manager. In this new position, Bailey will lead the Division’s efforts to facilitate communications and engagement with minority-owned, woman-owned, and veteran-owned businesses, building on her previous work with the small business community. 

Governor Brian P. Kemp recently issued an Executive Order directing DOAS to create the position of Small Business and Supplier Diversity Manager to lead communications and engagement initiatives that help minority-owned small businesses navigate the state’s contract process and collaborate with other small business development partners to increase outreach efforts to the small business community. 

Bailey joined the DOAS in 2013 and has established a strong knowledge base in state procurement operations, policies, and systems through her administration of SPD’s communications and marketing program prior to assuming supervision of the Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Certification Program and supplier outreach and training programs in 2018. Beginning in 2020, Bailey’s advocacy and work with other small business development partners and supplier community stakeholders enabled DOAS to significantly increase outreach and engagement with the supplier community as part of the agency’s small business initiative, hosting or participating in more than 70 supplier engagement events with more than 3,800 participants in Fiscal Year 2022. 

Through the introduction of new training programs, such as the Georgia DOAS Procurement Connect Informational Series, Bailey continues to champion training opportunities for businesses interested in state contracting opportunities. In partnership with the University of Georgia’s Small Business Development Center’s Multicultural Business Division, the Georgia Small Business Procurement Readiness Workshop series was established in 2021. Bailey is an integral part of this program which was honored as a finalist through the National Association of State Procurement Officers’ Georgia Cronin Award program. 

Prior to joining DOAS, Bailey worked with the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Business Center-Atlanta at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Enterprise Innovation Institute. While there, Bailey successfully managed various programs including a Lunch-and-Learn Series and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence Program. Through outreach activities, she assisted the Center with increasing the clients served goal by over 150%. This Center helps Minority Business Enterprises access capital, increase profitability, create jobs, and become sustainable. 

Bailey earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations from Howard University and a Master of Business Administration degree in Management from Troy University. She resides in McDonough, Georgia with her husband, Leeroy, and their four children.