ATL Standard

Mayor Dickens appoints new director of Office of Contract Compliance

ATLANTA—After a national search, Mayor Andre Dickens announced the appointment of Rocsean Spencer, MCA, to serve as Director of the Office of Contract Compliance (OCC). Spencer will oversee the department that serves as a liaison linking small minority and women-owned and disadvantaged businesses with city-related business opportunities while maintaining Atlanta’s national standard for Minority Business Enterprise. The OCC administers programs on formal contracts in the city’s Aviation, Watershed, and General Fund Departments.

“The OCC is one of the greatest legacy projects handed down to us by Mayor Jackson, and it is up to us to keep women and minority-owned businesses not just engaged in City business but thriving as active partners,” said Mayor Dickens. “Rocsean has built an entire career on the ideals of equity, fairness and inclusiveness in how business should be done, and I look forward to seeing how she will continue to grow OCC’s programs and engage even more of these small businesses who otherwise would not have a seat at the table."

The mission of the Mayor's Office of Contract Compliance's Equal Business Opportunity Program is to mitigate the effects of past and present discrimination against women and minority businesses. The City of Atlanta has found that African American, Female, Hispanic, and Asian American-owned businesses have suffered from racial and gender discrimination in both public and private markets, resulting in disproportionate awards of contract dollars to non-minority or non-female businesses. It is the responsibility of the Office of Contract Compliance to promote full and equal business opportunities for all persons doing business with the City of Atlanta. In FY 2024 alone, there were roughly 112 competitive procurements with OCC requirements.

Prior to joining the City of Atlanta, Spencer held the position of inaugural Chief Diversity Officer at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Her appointment marked a significant milestone as the first such role among convention centers nationwide.

Spencer most recently served as the Convention Center’s First Small and Emerging Business (SEB) Program Director, a position created in 2019 to promote diverse and small business inclusion. In that role, Spencer developed and managed the Small and Emerging Business Opportunity Program. She improved small business participation from 2% to 34% on a $557 million capital improvement project. She was dedicated to reducing bias, promoting equitable outcomes, cultivating respect and inclusivity, aligning communications with People Services programs under Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) objectives.

Spencer came from the City of New Orleans' Office of Supplier Diversity where she served as Certification Officer reviewing Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) certification applications. She was later promoted to Compliance Officer managing a portfolio worth $450 million in public and private sector funds before supervising the DBE program as SLDBE Certification Coordinator.

Spencer earned her B.A. in Public Administration from Southern University at New Orleans. She also earned her Master’s in Contract Compliance Certification from American Contract Compliance Association along with Morgan State University for Continuing and Professional Studies.

Her appointment is effective July 29, 2024.

You can learn more about the OCC or doing business with the city here.