Ellena Silva

Ellena Silva serves as the primary procurement lead for the Cibola National Forest, overseeing the acquisition of essential operational services that sustain forest management and public safety initiatives. She is responsible for managing the full lifecycle of contracts aligned with the U.S. Forest Service’s mission to preserve ecological integrity and support recreational access. Her portfolio centers on field-support services critical to daily operations, including sanitation, infrastructure maintenance, and wildfire mitigation efforts. Silva ensures compliance with federal acquisition regulations while prioritizing mission-critical needs across remote and high-use forest areas. She maintains strong, ongoing relationships with key contractors including RELIANCE CONTRACTORS INC and ALERTWEST, INC, both of which provide consistent, high-quality support for environmental and operational services. Her contracting approach emphasizes reliability, performance-based outcomes, and long-term vendor partnerships that align with the forest’s seasonal and emergency response demands. Silva fosters collaborative vendor engagement, often leveraging performance metrics and service-level agreements to ensure accountability and operational continuity. A staunch advocate for small business participation, Silva consistently prioritizes Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5, with over 84% of her acquisitions reserved for small businesses. This reflects a deliberate strategy to strengthen local economic resilience and expand opportunities for disadvantaged entrepreneurs. Her contracting patterns demonstrate a strong preference for socioeconomic programs that promote inclusive participation, particularly benefiting small, community-based firms with expertise in rural service delivery. Her procurement focus is concentrated in NAICS 561720 (Janitorial Services), 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry), and 562991 (Septic Tank and Related Services), reflecting the agency’s need for sanitation, waste management, and ecological support services. She also procures specialized plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning services, as well as niche plastics manufacturing for field equipment components. Her technical expertise lies in integrating environmental compliance with operational efficiency, ensuring all acquisitions meet federal land management standards and public health requirements.