Karen L. Johnson

Karen L. Johnson serves as a Contract Specialist within the W2SD Endist Baltimore office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where she manages the full lifecycle of procurement actions for critical military infrastructure projects. Her role centers on executing competitively awarded contracts under the Federal Acquisition Regulation to support the construction, maintenance, and restoration of commercial and institutional facilities across Army installations. She ensures compliance with statutory requirements while aligning acquisitions with the agency’s mission of sustaining operational readiness through resilient infrastructure. Johnson routinely handles complex construction solicitations requiring detailed technical evaluations, performance-based specifications, and rigorous contract administration. Johnson maintains established working relationships with a core group of experienced contractors, including GRUNLEY CONSTRUCTION CO., INC., GREAT LAKES DREDGE & DOCK CO., LLC, MATTHEWS GROUP INC, CURTIN MARITIME CORP, and CHEROENHAKA NOTTOWAY ENTERPRISES, LLC. These partnerships reflect a preference for vendors with proven expertise in military facility construction, marine civil works, and environmental remediation. Her contracting approach emphasizes performance accountability, risk mitigation, and long-term vendor reliability, fostering collaborative relationships grounded in compliance and delivery excellence. A strong advocate for socioeconomic contracting, Johnson consistently prioritizes small business participation, with nearly 80% of her portfolio allocated to set-asides—equally divided between 8(a) competed awards and Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5. Her procurement patterns reflect a deliberate strategy to expand opportunities for disadvantaged and historically underutilized businesses while maintaining competitive rigor. She actively promotes HUBZone and SDVOSB participation where eligible, reinforcing the Army’s commitment to equitable access and economic inclusion. Her technical focus is exclusively on NAICS 236220—Commercial and Institutional Building Construction—where she specializes in procuring design-build and traditional construction services for barracks, administrative facilities, training centers, and related infrastructure. Johnson brings deep expertise in interpreting construction specifications, managing change orders, and ensuring compliance with military construction standards, making her a key contributor to the Army’s facility modernization initiatives.