Team members from the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare and the Multidisciplinary Institute for Child Welfare recently attended the University of Minnesota's 2025 Supplier Engagement Expo on October 7, 2025 to support this important initiative and to be acknowledged for their participation over the past year.
The theme this year was “Build Your Grit: Fueling Small Business Resilience”. Hosted by the Office for Supplier Diversity, this annual event is an exciting opportunity to discover, connect, and collaborate with buyers and businesses of all types. It brings together staff, procurement professionals, community members and partners, as well as a wide range of small and large businesses to build meaningful partnerships and promote equitable economic opportunity.
Part of the event includes the Awards, Incentive, and Recognition (AIR) Program and luncheon, where AIR program recipients are honored. It’s an opportunity to spotlight and celebrate University departments, staff, and vendors who demonstrate exemplary efforts in supporting supplier diversity.
During the luncheon and recognition program, the Multidisciplinary Institute for Child Welfare (MICW) was acknowledged as one of the 2025 AIR Award recipients for demonstrating exemplary efforts in supporting supplier diversity. Nubia Esparza, the Operations Manager at MICW, accepted the award on behalf of the organization.
“For fiscal year 2025, MICW spent an astonishing 25% of their available external spend on targeted businesses,” said Wing Witthuhn, Director of the Office for Supplier Diversity, “Their dedication is evident not just in their results, but in their actions. Last year, eight staff members from the School of Social Work attended this very expo, and this year, they’re here again, eight strong. That level of consistent engagement shows a genuine, team-wide investment in our mission.”
“At the Multidisciplinary Institute for Child Welfare, we intentionally seek out diverse suppliers whose contributions help us to fulfill our mission, which is to advance the knowledge, skill, and well-being of child welfare and allied professionals through policy, training and education,” said Esparza, “We’re honored to receive this award and thankful for the recognition.”
Paying Thao, the Administrative Financial and Program Support Specialist at the MICW was the recipient of the 2025 STAR Award, which is given to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding commitment to supplier diversity, fostering inclusivity, and driving positive change within the University and our community.
“Paying first learned about targeted business from last year’s expo, and she shared that by attending the expo, she felt inspired, and sought out more information about what it means to use and support targeted businesses to meet the Multidisciplinary Institute for Child Welfare’s needs,” said Witthuhn, “When staff are interested in suppliers, she intentionally seeks out targeted suppliers to select from. Paying’s colleagues shared that she is an integral part of their team. She’s collaborative, and always goes the extra mile to provide solutions as quickly as possible.”
Left to right: Nubia Esparza with the AIR Award and Paying Thao with the STAR Award.
MICW and CASCW staff were excited to be recognized for this very important work, and see it as a wonderful example of living their values. They look forward to continuing to diversify and strengthen their network of partners.
Are you interested in a partnership with the Multidisciplinary Institute for Child Welfare? Please contact [email protected].