Colleen Hightower

Colleen Hightower serves as a key procurement professional within the USDA Forest Service, supporting the agency’s mission to sustain national forest and grassland ecosystems through strategic acquisitions. She manages contracts critical to operational readiness, ecological restoration, and emergency response in remote and rugged environments. Her work centers on acquiring specialized services that enhance forest health, mitigate wildfire risks, and maintain infrastructure resilience, with a strong emphasis on mission-critical support activities. Hightower’s portfolio primarily includes professional, technical, and logistical services essential to field operations, ensuring the Forest Service maintains capacity to respond to natural disturbances and manage public lands effectively. She maintains consistent working relationships with a select group of contractors, including ACI FEDERAL INC, ONE STOP RECRUITING LLC, GONDO ROY E MD, THE LOCUMS CO, LLC, and AMD INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES LLC. These partnerships reflect a focus on niche service providers delivering workforce support, medical and aviation logistics, and technical consulting tailored to the unique demands of federal land management. Her contracting patterns suggest a preference for established vendors with proven experience in remote-site operations, emergency medical services, and specialized aviation support, indicating a reliance on trusted, mission-aligned partners rather than broad open competitions. Hightower demonstrates a balanced approach to socioeconomic contracting, with nearly 41% of her awards directed toward small business set-asides, including a notable 17.6% allocated to HUBZone firms. While the majority of procurements remain open to all competitors, her consistent use of Total Small Business Set-Asides underscores a deliberate commitment to fostering small business participation in critical forest service operations. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry), which accounts for two-thirds of her activity, encompassing wildfire suppression support, invasive species management, and forest inventory services. She also regularly procures surveying and mapping services (541370) for land assessment and air transportation services (481212) to support remote workforce mobility, reflecting deep technical expertise in ecological operations and logistical enablement for federal land management.