Barbara Benninghoff

Barbara M. Benninghoff serves as a Contracting Officer for the USDA Forest Service–SPOC NW, where she manages the acquisition of critical services supporting ecological restoration, public safety infrastructure, and sustainable forest management. Her portfolio encompasses a wide range of professional, technical, and administrative contracts aligned with the agency’s mission to restore forest ecosystems and enhance public access to remote lands. She routinely handles complex procurements under FAR Part 12 and Part 36, focusing on consulting services, emergency relief support, and IT-enabled operational solutions that directly enable field operations and resource stewardship. While specific contractor names are not publicly disclosed, Barbara maintains a balanced procurement approach that fosters partnerships with both large professional services firms and small business vendors capable of delivering specialized expertise in forest management and public infrastructure. Her contracting patterns reflect a preference for competed, non-set-aside awards, yet she consistently integrates small business participation into her acquisition strategy, ensuring competitive fairness and broad vendor engagement across the Northwest region. Barbara demonstrates a measurable commitment to socioeconomic contracting, with approximately 30% of her awards directed toward small business set-asides, including Total Small Business and 8(a) competed contracts. Her pattern reflects a strategic balance between maximizing competition and fulfilling federal small business goals, with a clear emphasis on leveraging the capabilities of certified small disadvantaged businesses to support mission-critical projects. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 541519 (Other Computer Related Services) and 541611 (Administrative Management Consulting), with significant activity in 624230 (Emergency and Relief Services) and 611710 (Educational Support Services). She specializes in acquiring technical services for trail and bridge rehabilitation, wildfire resilience planning, reforestation logistics, and administrative support systems, demonstrating deep domain expertise in the intersection of environmental stewardship and operational contracting.