Dayna Trotter

Dayna Trotter serves as a Contract Specialist within the Contracts and Acquisitions Management unit of the U.S. Department of Education, where she plays a pivotal role in executing strategic procurements that support federal education policy, research, and institutional capacity building. She manages the full lifecycle of professional services contracts, ensuring alignment with federal acquisition regulations and the agency’s mission to advance evidence-based decision-making in postsecondary education. Her portfolio primarily consists of consulting and management services critical to modernizing federal student aid systems, enhancing regulatory compliance, and strengthening national data collection infrastructure. Trotter’s work ensures that acquisitions are transparent, compliant, and aligned with the Department’s strategic priorities in education research and operational efficiency. Trotter maintains a consistent working relationship with LPE-STRATEGIES LLC, a primary contractor providing high-level management consulting services. Her procurement approach emphasizes long-term vendor partnerships grounded in performance-based outcomes and clear deliverables. She engages contractors through competitive solicitation processes, prioritizing quality of technical proposals, past performance, and alignment with educational policy objectives. Her collaboration with vendors is characterized by structured contract administration, rigorous oversight, and a focus on delivering measurable improvements to federal education systems. Trotter’s contracting patterns reflect a deliberate absence of socioeconomic set-asides, with 100% of her awards issued under full and open competition. This approach underscores a mission-driven emphasis on selecting the most qualified providers based on technical merit and institutional expertise, rather than socioeconomic criteria. While she does not prioritize 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB set-asides, her process remains fully compliant with all federal small business participation goals through open market competition. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 541611 and 541618, encompassing administrative management consulting and other management consulting services. She consistently procures expert advisory services related to education policy analysis, regulatory compliance frameworks, data system modernization, and institutional capacity assessments. Her technical domain expertise centers on federal higher education operations, student aid administration, and the infrastructure supporting national education data systems.