Kathy A Richardson

Kathy A. Richardson supports the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) within the Office of Acquisition and Supply Chain Management (OAS PCMB), where she plays a critical role in securing advanced analytical and laboratory capabilities essential to the nation’s food safety infrastructure. Her procurement activities center on acquiring high-precision diagnostic instrumentation, in-vitro reagents, and data analytics systems used for real-time detection of biological and chemical hazards in meat, poultry, and egg products. She manages complex acquisitions under FAR Part 15, often involving technical evaluations of scientific equipment and service-based contracts for laboratory support, ensuring compliance with federal standards for food safety surveillance. While specific contractor names are not publicly disclosed, her procurement patterns reflect consistent engagement with specialized manufacturers of analytical laboratory instruments and diagnostic substances. She fosters long-term vendor partnerships with firms possessing validated technical expertise in instrumentation calibration, method validation, and regulatory compliance—particularly those aligned with FDA and USDA biosafety protocols. Her contracting approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, lifecycle cost analysis, and technical readiness assessments to ensure mission-critical systems meet rigorous scientific and operational demands. Richardson’s contracting portfolio demonstrates a strong preference for open competition, with approximately 80.6% of awards issued without set-asides. However, she actively supports small business participation, with nearly 19.4% of contracts awarded under Total Small Business Set-Asides (FAR 19.5), reflecting a deliberate effort to integrate capable small innovators into the food safety supply chain without compromising technical rigor. Her primary NAICS focus lies in 334516 (Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing), underscoring her deep specialization in procuring mass spectrometers, PCR platforms, and automated pathogen detection systems. Secondary emphasis on 325413 (In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing) highlights her role in sourcing reagents and test kits for rapid microbial identification. This technical domain expertise ensures FSIS maintains a cutting-edge, science-driven inspection capability grounded in reliable, validated analytical tools.