Elizabeth M. Colarik

Elizabeth Colarik serves as a key procurement lead within USAID/South Sudan, managing critical acquisitions that sustain U.S. diplomatic and development operations in a high-risk, resource-constrained environment. She oversees the acquisition of professional, scientific, and technical services essential to institutional resilience, including logistics, infrastructure support, and specialized technical assistance. Her work ensures the continuity of U.S. government presence by securing mission-critical services that enable safe, functional, and adaptive operations across fragile contexts. She routinely handles complex, performance-based contracts under FAR Part 37 and service-based solicitations requiring stringent compliance with security, cultural, and operational protocols. While specific contractor names are not publicly disclosed, Colarik maintains relationships with a diverse pool of international and local service providers, including firms with regional expertise in conflict-affected environments. Her contracting patterns reflect a preference for experienced vendors capable of delivering high-integrity, context-sensitive solutions under dynamic conditions. She engages both large firms with global reach and specialized local entities capable of rapid mobilization, emphasizing reliability, security clearance compatibility, and cultural fluency in vendor selection. Colarik’s procurement portfolio is overwhelmingly non-set-aside, with 94.7% of awards issued under full and open competition, reflecting the urgent, mission-critical nature of the acquisitions. However, she consistently allocates 5.3% of opportunities to total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5, demonstrating a measured but deliberate commitment to fostering local capacity and small business participation without compromising operational readiness. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 541990 (All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services), encompassing technical advisory services, conflict mitigation support, and governance capacity-building. She also regularly procures facilities support services (NAICS 561210) and personal services (NAICS 812990), including security, translation, and logistical coordination. Her domain expertise centers on delivering integrated, adaptive services that align with USAID’s mission of sustaining operations in one of the world’s most challenging operational environments.