Kathryn "Katy" Pridgen

Kathryn “Katy” Pridgen serves as a key procurement lead within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, driving acquisitions that advance NOAA’s mission of environmental monitoring, coastal resilience, and oceanographic research. She specializes in securing expert environmental consulting services to support data-driven decision-making, ecosystem assessments, and climate adaptation planning. Her portfolio consistently focuses on technical contracts that enable scientific fieldwork, environmental modeling, and regulatory compliance support, ensuring NOAA’s operational readiness through high-integrity, mission-critical contractor performance. Pridgen’s work directly enables the agency’s capacity to deliver accurate weather forecasts, protect marine habitats, and inform coastal infrastructure policy. Pridgen maintains longstanding partnerships with a select group of specialized vendors, including Tronconi Segarra & Associates LLP, JNB Services LLC, Pure Enviro-Management, LLC, and The Regents of the University of Colorado. These relationships reflect a preference for firms with deep expertise in environmental science, ecological monitoring, and applied oceanographic research. Her contracting approach emphasizes long-term collaboration with contractors who demonstrate technical proficiency, regulatory familiarity, and proven success in delivering field-ready solutions under complex environmental conditions. These partnerships are characterized by sustained engagement and performance-based contract management. Pridgen exhibits a steadfast commitment to small business participation, with 100% of her acquisitions structured as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. This consistent pattern ensures that small, innovative firms with niche environmental capabilities have equitable access to NOAA’s mission-critical contracts. Her procurement strategy actively cultivates a pipeline of qualified small business vendors, reinforcing socioeconomic goals while maintaining rigorous technical standards for service delivery. Her primary procurement focus is squarely on NAICS 541620—Environmental Consulting Services—encompassing environmental impact assessments, water quality monitoring, habitat restoration planning, and climate vulnerability analyses. She procures specialized scientific services that support NOAA’s research, regulatory, and operational functions, relying on contractors with expertise in marine biology, atmospheric data interpretation, and environmental compliance frameworks.