Keisha S. Willingham

Keisha Willingham serves as a key procurement professional within NASA Headquarters, supporting the agency’s mission to advance space science and aeronautics through strategic acquisition of technical and professional services. She manages a diverse portfolio of contracts focused on research support, engineering solutions, and management consulting, ensuring alignment with NASA’s strategic priorities in planetary science, astrophysics, and Earth observation. Her work spans the full acquisition lifecycle—from requirements definition to contract award and administration—with an emphasis on delivering high-integrity, mission-critical capabilities that enable scientific discovery and technological innovation. While specific contractor names are not publicly disclosed, Willingham engages with a broad ecosystem of professional services firms, engineering consultants, and specialized technology manufacturers. Her contracting patterns reflect collaboration with both large primes and small businesses, fostering partnerships that bring technical depth and agility to NASA’s operational needs. She prioritizes performance-based outcomes and leverages competitive solicitation strategies to ensure value, innovation, and mission readiness across all awarded contracts. Willingham demonstrates a strong commitment to socioeconomic contracting, with approximately 30% of her portfolio allocated to small business set-asides, including 20% total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5 and 10% competed 8(a) awards. Her approach actively promotes diversity in the supplier base, encouraging participation from disadvantaged and historically underutilized businesses while maintaining rigorous technical and compliance standards. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 541990 (other professional, scientific, and technical services), 541330 (engineering services), and 541611 (management consulting), reflecting a demand for specialized technical expertise in systems integration, mission planning, and operational analysis. She also procures analytical laboratory instrumentation and wireless communications equipment, underscoring her role in supporting NASA’s scientific instrumentation and mission communication infrastructure.