Kathryn Rice

Kathryn Rice serves as a key procurement lead within the IBC Acquisition Services Directorate of the Department of the Interior, where she manages specialized contracts supporting real estate valuation, land management, and infrastructure stewardship. Her role centers on executing acquisition strategies that align with federal landholdings and public trust obligations, ensuring the agency secures high-caliber professional services to inform land-use decisions and asset management. She primarily handles sole-source and competitive procurements under NAICS 531320, focusing on expert appraisals, boundary surveys, and land analysis services critical to DOI’s mission of responsible resource stewardship. Rice maintains consistent working relationships with a select group of specialized contractors, including Phoenix Air Group, Inc., Papillon Airways Inc., Brainerd Helicopters, Inc., and HMC Helicopter Service LLC, reflecting a strong reliance on niche aviation and technical service providers. These partnerships are typically structured to support aerial surveying, remote sensing, and field data collection essential for land appraisal and environmental monitoring. Her contracting approach emphasizes reliability, technical precision, and long-term vendor collaboration, often favoring firms with proven expertise in federal land-based operations. A defining feature of her procurement portfolio is a robust 70.6% commitment to Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5, demonstrating a deliberate strategy to prioritize small business participation in mission-critical acquisitions. This pattern underscores a sustained effort to expand economic opportunity within the professional services sector while maintaining high standards of technical competency. Her contracting practices reflect a balanced emphasis on socioeconomic goals and mission effectiveness. Her industry focus is singularly concentrated on NAICS 531320—Offices of Real Estate Appraisers—where she procures expert services for property valuation, easement analysis, and land use compliance. These acquisitions support DOI’s legal and fiduciary responsibilities, requiring contractors with deep knowledge of federal land statutes, appraisal standards (USPAP), and geospatial data integration. Rice’s expertise lies in securing technically rigorous, legally defensible appraisal services to underpin land management decisions across federal holdings.