Kate Young

Kate Young serves as a Textile Technologist, providing critical technical expertise to guide the acquisition of specialized textile and apparel products for government use. In this role, she evaluates material performance, compliance with federal specifications, and manufacturing processes to ensure procurement decisions align with operational requirements and quality standards. Her work bridges technical analysis with contracting strategy, enabling the selection of high-integrity textile solutions for defense, public safety, and federal service applications. She typically handles complex acquisitions involving performance-based specifications, technical evaluations, and vendor qualification reviews for fabric finishing and cut-and-sew manufacturing. While no specific contractor relationships are currently identifiable, Kate collaborates with a diverse range of manufacturers and suppliers capable of meeting stringent federal textile standards, including those with certifications in quality management systems such as ISO 9001 and military-specific specs like MIL-SPEC. Her procurement approach emphasizes technical capability, traceability of materials, and consistent production scalability, fostering long-term vendor partnerships built on reliability and compliance rather than price alone. Kate’s procurement patterns show a strong preference for open competition, with 100% of her acquisitions conducted under non-set-aside authorities. This reflects a focus on technical merit and performance over socioeconomic categorization, though she remains compliant with all federal small business participation requirements. Her approach prioritizes capability and conformity to federal specifications, ensuring the most technically qualified vendors compete fairly without artificial constraints. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 313310 (Textile and Fabric Finishing Mills) and 315210 (Cut and Sew Apparel Contractors), where she specializes in technical textiles, protective gear fabrics, moisture-wicking uniforms, and precision-sewn apparel for institutional use. She possesses deep domain knowledge in fiber chemistry, weave structures, durability testing, and regulatory compliance under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12 and military textile standards, making her a key technical authority in the procurement lifecycle for performance-driven textile solutions.