LaKeisha D. McBride

LaKeisha D. McBride serves as a Contract Specialist at the Southeast Regional Maintenance Center (N40027), a key facility within the Department of Defense responsible for sustaining the U.S. Navy’s surface fleet through dry-docking, structural overhauls, and complex ship modernization. In her role, she manages the full lifecycle of procurement actions for shipbuilding and repair services under NAICS 336611, ensuring compliance with federal acquisition regulations while aligning acquisitions with the Center’s mission to extend vessel service life and maintain combat readiness. Her portfolio includes high-stakes contracts for hull repairs, machinery upgrades, and specialized naval system integration, requiring deep technical understanding of naval architecture and shipyard operations. McBride collaborates with a diverse range of industrial contractors, including shipyards, marine engineering firms, and specialized repair vendors with proven expertise in naval maintenance. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, she consistently engages with firms possessing relevant naval experience, Coast Guard certifications, and facility capabilities to support dry-dock operations. Her working relationships emphasize performance reliability, regulatory compliance, and technical proficiency over volume, fostering long-term partnerships with qualified vendors capable of meeting stringent Navy standards. Her contracting approach reflects a strong commitment to small business participation, with approximately one-third of her awards structured as Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5. She actively prioritizes small business eligibility and encourages participation from firms certified under socioeconomic programs, demonstrating a deliberate effort to expand vendor diversity within the defense industrial base. Her set-aside preferences signal a strategic balance between operational necessity and socioeconomic contracting goals. McBride’s expertise is exclusively focused on NAICS 336611—Ship Building and Repairing—where she procures services ranging from structural steel replacement and propulsion system overhauls to electrical and hydraulic system retrofits. Her technical domain knowledge encompasses naval vessel construction standards, dry-dock logistics, and Navy Maintenance and Repair (M&R) protocols, ensuring that all acquisitions support the enduring operational readiness of the fleet.