Denise Harper

Denise Harper serves as a Contract Officer within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), where she manages the acquisition of mission-critical technical services supporting oceanic, atmospheric, and coastal research and monitoring. Her role is central to NOAA’s mission of advancing environmental science through data-driven systems, overseeing the full lifecycle of contracts for IT infrastructure, engineering analyses, and scientific support services. She routinely handles complex procurements under FAR Part 15, emphasizing performance-based contracting and technical evaluation criteria to ensure alignment with NOAA’s scientific and operational priorities. Harper maintains strong, recurring relationships with a select group of contractors including Wisconsin Educational Communications Board, Tronconi Segarra & Associates LLP, JNB Services LLC, Pure Enviro-Management, LLC, and The Regents of the University of Colorado. These partnerships reflect a preference for firms with demonstrated expertise in environmental data systems, computational modeling, and science-based consulting. Her contracting approach emphasizes long-term vendor collaboration, leveraging past performance and technical capability over price alone, fostering reliable delivery of high-stakes scientific services. A staunch advocate for small business participation, Harper consistently structures procurements with a 60% total small business set-aside preference under FAR 19.5, reflecting a robust commitment to socioeconomic goals. Her portfolio regularly includes awards to small disadvantaged businesses and other eligible entities, reinforcing NOAA’s mandate to broaden vendor diversity and enhance innovation through inclusive contracting practices. Her procurement focus centers on NAICS 541519 (Other Computer Related Services) and 518210 (Computing Infrastructure Providers), with significant activity in engineering services (541330) and data publishing (511210). She specializes in acquiring cloud-enabled data processing platforms, environmental modeling software, web-hosted observation systems, and analytical services critical to NOAA’s weather forecasting, marine ecosystem monitoring, and climate resilience initiatives.