Deila Johnson

Deila Johnson serves as a Contract Specialist within the Contracts and Acquisitions Management unit of the Department of Education, where she plays a pivotal role in executing strategic procurements that advance federal education policy and institutional capacity. She manages the full lifecycle of professional services contracts, ensuring alignment with federal acquisition regulations and agency priorities in postsecondary research, data systems, and regulatory compliance. Her acquisitions primarily support evidence-based decision-making, federal student aid infrastructure, and modernization of national education data collection platforms, with a focus on consulting, research, and technical services. Johnson maintains a consistent working relationship with LPE-STRATEGIES LLC, a key vendor providing analytical and policy implementation support. Her procurement patterns reflect collaborative, performance-based contracting approaches, often utilizing Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) and Time-and-Materials (T&M) mechanisms to ensure flexibility in delivering complex, evolving services. She engages with a mix of large professional service firms and small businesses, prioritizing clear performance metrics and deliverable-based outcomes. Her contracting portfolio reflects a strong preference for open competition, with 73.1% of awards issued without set-asides, while 26.9% are structured as Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5. This balance demonstrates a deliberate effort to maintain competition while actively fostering opportunities for small businesses across socioeconomic categories, particularly those capable of delivering high-quality research and technical services. Johnson’s primary NAICS focus is on 541720 (Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities), reflecting her specialization in policy analysis, educational research, and program evaluation. She also routinely procures services under 541990 (Other Professional Services) and 541611 (Management Consulting), with additional demand for custom programming (541511) and data infrastructure services (518210). Her expertise lies in acquiring technical and analytical services that strengthen federal education data systems and support regulatory modernization.