Keisha L. Pender

Keisha L. Pender serves as a key procurement professional within the Department of Homeland Security, supporting mission-critical acquisitions aligned with national security operations, cybersecurity resilience, and infrastructure modernization. She manages a diverse portfolio of contracts spanning advanced operational systems, data analytics platforms, and mission-enabling equipment, ensuring alignment with DHS’s strategic priorities in safeguarding critical infrastructure and enhancing digital sovereignty. Her work directly supports the agency’s imperative to modernize information systems and sustain high-consequence federal functions through timely, compliant, and technically sound contracting practices. Pender maintains consistent relationships with leading defense and industrial contractors, including INTEGRATED COAST GUARD SYSTEMS LLC, BOLLINGER SHIPYARDS LOCKPORT, L.L.C., HUNTINGTON INGALLS INC, DEPLOYED RESOURCES LLC, and EASTERN SHIPBUILDING GROUP, INC. These partnerships reflect a focus on maritime systems, logistics support, and specialized equipment procurement essential to DHS operational readiness. Her contracting approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, technical rigor, and long-term vendor collaboration to ensure mission continuity and system interoperability across complex federal environments. While the majority of her acquisitions are conducted as open competitions (75%), she maintains a strong commitment to small business participation, with 25% of awards structured as Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5. This pattern demonstrates a deliberate effort to foster competitive engagement from qualified small businesses without relying on specialized socioeconomic set-asides, balancing broad market access with equitable opportunity. Her procurement focus centers on NAICS codes 423490, 423430, 519190, and 325120, indicating deep expertise in procuring professional equipment, computer systems and software, digital information services, and industrial gas solutions. These categories reflect her technical domain knowledge in supporting cybersecurity infrastructure, data management systems, and mission-critical supply chains essential to DHS’s operational effectiveness.