Kathryn E Stark

Kathryn E. Stark serves as a Contract Officer for the U.S. Coast Guard’s SFLC Procurement Branch 1 (70Z080), where she manages complex acquisition programs critical to sustaining and modernizing the Coast Guard’s fleet of cutters and maritime assets. Her portfolio centers on shipbuilding, repair, and maintenance contracts under the National Defense Authorization Act, ensuring operational readiness for coastal, offshore, and open-ocean missions. She specializes in negotiating and administering full and open competitions, as well as set-aside procurements, for vessel overhaul, propulsion system upgrades, and marine systems integration, aligning each acquisition with statutory compliance and mission-critical readiness goals. Stark maintains consistent working relationships with leading marine industrial contractors including Fairbanks Morse, LLC, Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors, L.L.C., Bay Ship & Yacht Co., Automatic Coating Limited USA, and Technico Corporation. These partnerships reflect a preference for established shipyard and marine systems providers with proven expertise in naval vessel maintenance, dry-dock overhauls, and corrosion-resistant coating applications. Her contracting approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, technical compliance, and long-term vendor reliability, fostering collaborative relationships built on quality, timeliness, and regulatory adherence. Her procurement patterns demonstrate a strong commitment to small business participation, with nearly 40% of awards structured as Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5, and additional support for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses and HUBZone firms. While the majority of her acquisitions remain open to all competitors, her strategic use of socioeconomic set-asides reflects a deliberate effort to broaden industrial base capacity and promote equitable access to federal maritime contracting opportunities. Stark’s technical focus is dominated by NAICS 336611 (Ship Building and Repairing), reflecting her deep expertise in naval vessel lifecycle management. She routinely procures specialized marine systems, including propulsion components, gaskets and sealing devices, and overhead crane systems critical to shipyard operations, demonstrating advanced understanding of maritime engineering standards and defense acquisition regulations.