Carolyn Knight

Carolyn Knight serves as a procurement lead within the Incident Support Section (ISS70) of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where she plays a critical role in securing essential goods and services to sustain emergency response and recovery operations during domestic disasters. Her work directly supports FEMA’s mission to maintain operational continuity and deliver life-sustaining resources in austere environments, with a focus on acquiring specialized textile and electrical equipment critical to survivor support and infrastructure resilience. She manages a portfolio of acquisitions governed by FAR Part 13 and Part 19, emphasizing rapid deployment and mission-critical delivery timelines under urgent operational conditions. While specific contractor names are not publicly disclosed, Knight consistently engages with a diverse pool of small business vendors, particularly those certified under socioeconomic programs, fostering strong, repeat partnerships with firms capable of delivering high-volume, standardized yet mission-adapted products under tight deadlines. Her contracting approach prioritizes agility, compliance, and supply chain reliability, often leveraging blanket purchase agreements and basic ordering agreements to ensure responsive procurement during evolving emergency scenarios. Knight maintains a strict 100% small business set-aside preference across all her acquisitions, reflecting a deep institutional commitment to expanding economic opportunity through federal contracting. She actively targets 8(a), HUBZone, and SDVOSB-certified firms, ensuring that socioeconomic goals are fully integrated into every procurement decision, and consistently structures solicitations to maximize participation from underserved small businesses. Her procurement focus is concentrated in three NAICS categories: 314120 (Curtain and Linen Mills), 314910 (Textile Bag and Canvas Mills), and 335312 (Motor and Generator Manufacturing). These reflect her specialization in sourcing durable textiles for shelter systems, heavy-duty canvas goods for field logistics, and portable power generation equipment critical to sustaining operations in off-grid disaster zones. Her technical expertise lies at the intersection of emergency logistics, material durability standards, and energy resilience solutions.