Deborah Simms-Brown

Deborah Simms-Brown serves as a Contracting Officer for USAID/Haiti (720521), where she plays a pivotal role in executing the agency’s mission to strengthen institutional resilience and sustainable development across Haiti. She manages the full lifecycle of acquisitions for professional, technical, and construction services that support critical sectors including public health, rule of law, elections, economic opportunity, and infrastructure. Her portfolio primarily consists of personal services contracts for U.S. and third-country national experts, as well as construction and engineering projects designed to build local capacity and improve public systems. As a key procurement lead, she ensures compliance with federal acquisition regulations and USAID’s development objectives, aligning contracting actions with strategic country assistance goals. Deborah works closely with a diverse array of contractors, including international consulting firms, engineering firms, and specialized technical service providers with deep expertise in Haitian institutional contexts. Her contracting patterns reflect a preference for experienced, mission-aligned vendors capable of delivering high-impact, on-the-ground technical assistance and infrastructure support. She fosters collaborative, performance-driven relationships with contractors who demonstrate cultural competency, local knowledge, and proven track records in complex, low-resource environments. Deborah’s procurement activity shows a strong preference for open competition, with 100% of her awards issued without set-aside designations. While she does not routinely utilize 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB set-asides, her approach emphasizes technical merit, past performance, and value for development outcomes over socioeconomic categorizations, reflecting the unique operational demands of U.S. foreign assistance in fragile contexts. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 541990 (All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services), 541330 (Engineering Services), and 236220 (Commercial and Institutional Building Construction), with additional activity in residential remodeling and hydroelectric power generation. She consistently procures technical advisory services, infrastructure design, construction management, and institutional capacity-building solutions tailored to Haiti’s developmental priorities.