Alaina Powers

Alaina Powers serves as a procurement specialist within CalUsource, the centralized acquisition arm of the University of California system, where she supports the strategic sourcing of mission-critical infrastructure and technology services. Her role is integral to advancing the UC system’s objectives in modernizing campus technology platforms, enhancing educational support systems, and enabling research infrastructure through efficient, compliant procurement practices. She typically manages complex solicitations for engineering services, information technology systems, and operational support solutions, ensuring alignment with state and federal procurement regulations while prioritizing value, scalability, and long-term institutional benefit. Her work directly enables academic excellence and operational resilience across UC’s statewide campuses. While no specific contractor relationships are currently documented in the procurement records, Alaina engages with a broad spectrum of vendors capable of delivering high-complexity, large-scale technical solutions. She works with firms ranging from enterprise-level integrators to specialized niche providers, emphasizing technical capability, past performance, and compliance with UC’s procurement standards. Her contracting patterns reflect a preference for open competition and performance-based outcomes, fostering a transparent and merit-driven vendor environment. Alaina’s procurement approach is uniformly non-set-aside, with 100% of her acquisitions conducted under full and open competition. This reflects a strategic emphasis on selecting the most qualified providers based on technical merit and operational readiness, rather than socioeconomic categorizations. While she does not prioritize 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB set-asides, her process remains fully compliant with all federal and state small business participation requirements, ensuring equitable access without artificial constraints. Her primary procurement focus centers on engineering services, information technology systems, and educational infrastructure solutions. She routinely manages acquisitions under NAICS categories related to systems integration, IT consulting, and facility modernization, with deep expertise in procuring cloud-based platforms, cybersecurity frameworks, and digital learning tools. Her domain knowledge ensures that technical requirements are clearly defined and aligned with UC’s long-term digital transformation goals.