Katherine Fairley

Katherine Fairley serves as a Contracting Officer with the 261-NETWORK Contract Office 21 (36C261) under the Department of Veterans Affairs, where she manages the acquisition of critical medical infrastructure, diagnostic equipment, and clinical support systems essential to sustaining VA healthcare delivery. Her portfolio encompasses complex procurements for surgical instruments, laboratory diagnostics, electromedical devices, and associated IT services, ensuring that VA medical facilities maintain cutting-edge capabilities to serve veterans. She applies full lifecycle contracting expertise—from market research and solicitation development to award and performance oversight—to align acquisitions with mission-critical clinical needs and federal procurement regulations. Fairley maintains established relationships with key industry partners including Abbott Laboratories, Cynergy Professional Systems, Integrated Trans Joint Venture, Science Applications International Corporation, and McKenzie Construction & Site Development. These partnerships reflect a balanced approach to sourcing, combining large prime contractors with specialized technical capabilities and smaller firms capable of delivering tailored solutions for facility modernization and clinical support. Her contracting patterns emphasize reliability, compliance, and technical precision, often requiring compliance with FDA-regulated product standards and HIPAA-compliant IT systems. Her procurement strategy prioritizes broad market access, with 65.4% of awards issued under open competition and a strong emphasis on socioeconomic programs: 21.1% are total small business set-asides, and 13.5% are reserved specifically for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs). This reflects a deliberate commitment to expanding veteran-owned enterprise participation while maintaining competitive rigor in high-stakes medical acquisitions. Fairley’s primary NAICS focus areas include pharmaceutical and in-vitro diagnostic manufacturing, surgical instrument production, and custom computer programming for healthcare systems. Her technical expertise spans medical device procurement, clinical laboratory automation, and infrastructure upgrades for VA medical centers, positioning her as a subject matter expert in the intersection of healthcare technology and federal acquisition policy.