Karin A. Kolstrom

Karin A. Kolstrom serves as a Contracting Officer for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), operating under agency code 7200AA, where she manages the acquisition of professional and technical services critical to advancing international development objectives. Her portfolio centers on strategic procurement activities that support governance reform, institutional capacity building, and emergency response coordination in partner nations. Kolstrom specializes in sole-source and competitive acquisitions under FAR Part 12 and Part 37, ensuring compliance with USAID’s mission-driven priorities while upholding federal procurement integrity and transparency. She routinely oversees complex service contracts requiring high levels of technical expertise and adaptive program management. Kolstrom maintains a primary contracting relationship with AMD International Technologies LLC, a trusted vendor with demonstrated capability in delivering technical assistance and policy advisory services abroad. Her working relationships reflect a preference for established contractors with proven experience in international development contexts, often engaging firms capable of rapid mobilization and cross-cultural program implementation. While she relies on a core group of qualified vendors, she actively encourages competition and maintains open solicitation channels to ensure market responsiveness and innovation. Kolstrom demonstrates a balanced commitment to socioeconomic objectives, with approximately half of her acquisitions structured as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5, and the other half awarded without set-aside to ensure flexibility in sourcing specialized expertise. This approach reflects a deliberate strategy to foster small business participation while maintaining the ability to meet urgent technical requirements. She consistently prioritizes small business eligibility and compliance, ensuring that socioeconomic programs are leveraged effectively without compromising program outcomes. Her procurement focus is exclusively aligned with NAICS 541990—All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services—encompassing governance advisory, democratic engagement support, institutional strengthening, and technical assistance in public administration. She procures services requiring deep domain knowledge in international policy, civil society engagement, and institutional diagnostics, ensuring that USAID’s interventions are evidence-based, locally grounded, and sustainable.