Charmaine Williams-James

Charmaine Williams-James serves as the primary procurement lead for the Indian Education Acquisition Office within the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education, overseeing acquisitions that advance educational equity and cultural responsiveness for Native American students. She manages a diverse portfolio of contracts spanning infrastructure, behavioral health services, and educational support systems, ensuring alignment with federal procurement regulations and tribal community needs. Her work directly supports the agency’s mission to create safe, functional, and culturally grounded learning environments by facilitating timely and compliant acquisition of essential goods and services. Williams-James maintains consistent working relationships with a core group of contractors, including RJS Construction Inc. for facility upgrades, Laura Edwards for specialized educational consulting, Lane Travel Inc. for student transportation logistics, Maguire Iron, Inc. for structural and mechanical systems, and Tami Jollie-Trottier PhD PLLC for therapeutic and behavioral health services. These partnerships reflect a strategic emphasis on vendors with proven experience in tribal education contexts, fostering long-term, trust-based collaborations that prioritize cultural competency and operational reliability. Her procurement strategy demonstrates a strong preference for Indian Small Business Economic Enterprise (ISBEE) set-asides, which account for over one-third of awards, alongside significant non-set-aside procurements. She actively leverages Department of the Interior-specific socioeconomic programs to promote economic development within Native communities, with modest but intentional participation from Total Small Business and Women-Owned Small Business concerns, reflecting a targeted approach to inclusive contracting. The agency’s primary procurement focus lies in Educational Support Services (NAICS 611710), followed by Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors (238220) and Therapy Services (621340). This underscores her expertise in acquiring integrated educational infrastructure and behavioral health support systems tailored to tribal school environments, blending facility modernization with student-centered service delivery.