VPF Point Person: Pam O'Neil, Senior Strategic Sourcing Analyst

Publication Date
5/20/2016

Pam_ONeil

An adventurous traveler and seasoned travel professional, Pam O’Neil brings extensive experience to her role as Senior Strategic Sourcing Analyst at VPF, and serves as the liaison between MIT and the travel and catering industries.

Pam came to MIT in 2015 after more than 20 years as director of travel services for an international law firm—meeting travel needs of 1,000 lawyers in the US and six countries. This work prepared her well for the complexities and range of travel undertaken by the MIT community, but for Pam, comparisons to the corporate world and MIT are striking. “The decentralized nature of MIT requires someone in my role to be flexible and responsive,” says Pam. “At the same time I work hard to address safety concerns and budget constraints for a community on the go.”

Pam is passionate about the safety of MIT’s travelers and works closely with the MIT Security and Emergency Management Office and the Office of Insurance on policies that help ensure everyone’s safety. “Today there is a deeper awareness on the part of organizations that they need reliable systems to locate people traveling on company business in case of an emergency. We have a responsibility to adhere to a Duty of Care policy which means we need to be able to reach any member of the community traveling for MIT and offer assistance in a crisis,” says Pam.

Closer to home, sourcing hotels for a campus meeting or conference is more complex than some realize. Checking in with Pam before embarking on this task is always a good idea, as she can make sure a DLC is not taking on unnecessary financial risk. For example, blocking rooms at a local hotel for a big conference—even if individual guests are going to pay for their rooms—can put the DLC at financial risk if those blocked rooms are not used. Pam and the Strategic Sourcing team have a new system in place that will help raise the community’s awareness of the potential risks and offer a better understanding of the contractual obligations when block booking hotel rooms. More importantly, Pam can advise DLCs on ways to eliminate that risk altogether.

On the catering side, Pam supports the MIT community to select vendors to cater a brown bag lunch for 20, feed thousands of alumni during Tech Reunions week, welcome students and their families for Freshman Convocation, and everything in between. She works to support the community’s increasing emphasis on sustainability, and seeks vendors who supply local, fresh food, biodegradable utensils, and create minimal waste.

Pam takes at least three major trips each year, and most recently journeyed to Panama, where she learned about growing coffee beans from a plantation owner. She counts a cooking tour of Italy and a heli hiking adventure in the Canadian Rockies among her most memorable adventures and is getting ready for a hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and planning a trip with her husband to Australia and New Zealand.
 
“My focus on travel has changed in recent years, from going and seeing, to learning and exploring,” says Pam, who cites “helicopters” as her favorite mode of transportation. “I have way too many things on my bucket list.”

Pam is available to assist DLCs with catering and travel sourcing for MIT business. She can be reached at poneil@mit.edu or 617-253-2756.

-Laurie Everett