Kathleen Theisen

Kathleen Theisen serves as a key procurement professional within the USDA Forest Service’s CSA East 9 unit, supporting the operational and scientific infrastructure essential to national forest and grassland management. She oversees the acquisition of goods and services critical to forest health, including vegetation monitoring systems, pest and invasive species control supplies, facility maintenance contracts, and environmental laboratory analysis equipment. Her role ensures that procurement activities align with the agency’s mission to sustain ecological integrity while maintaining safe, functional infrastructure across a vast operational footprint. She manages a diverse portfolio of contracts requiring technical precision and compliance with federal environmental and safety standards. She maintains consistent working relationships with a select group of specialized vendors, including LightBox Parent, L.P., Larkos Packing and Distribution Inc., Elf’s Landscaping Inc., Nelts of CT, LLC, and Richard Kyllander. These contractors provide niche capabilities in ecological landscaping, logistical support for field operations, facility upkeep, and environmental sampling services. Her procurement patterns reflect a preference for long-term, performance-based partnerships with firms possessing proven expertise in rural and remote-site operations, often requiring specialized equipment and seasonal workforce flexibility. Kathleen demonstrates a strong, unwavering commitment to small business participation, with 100% of her acquisitions structured as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. This reflects a deliberate strategy to cultivate local and regional vendors capable of delivering site-specific services across the agency’s dispersed geographic footprint. Her contracting patterns prioritize socioeconomic inclusion, ensuring that small businesses—particularly those with experience in conservation, forestry support, and environmental services—have equitable access to federal opportunities. While NAICS data is not currently available, her procurement activity centers on technical services related to ecological restoration, facility maintenance, and environmental analysis. She routinely acquires specialized equipment for field monitoring, biological sampling kits, vegetation management tools, and contractor-led ecological assessments, demonstrating deep domain expertise in sustainable land management and operational support for federal conservation programs.