Laura B. Harshbarger

Laura B. Harshbarger serves as a Contract Specialist within the Preparedness SECTION (PRE20) of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where she plays a pivotal role in executing mission-critical acquisitions that bolster national resilience and operational readiness. She manages a diverse portfolio of contracts supporting workforce development, incident management training, and specialized technical equipment procurement, ensuring alignment with DHS and FEMA strategic priorities. Her acquisitions are designed to enhance the administrative, logistical, and technical capacity of emergency response systems, with a strong emphasis on compliance, risk mitigation, and performance-based contracting methods. Harshbarger cultivates collaborative relationships with a broad spectrum of vendors, including small businesses certified under the 8(a) program, educational service providers, and manufacturers of analytical and control instrumentation. She works closely with firms delivering professional development training, educational support services, and precision measurement devices critical to emergency response operations. Her contracting approach emphasizes transparency, competitive solicitation, and long-term vendor performance evaluation to ensure mission continuity and accountability. A strong advocate for socioeconomic inclusion, Harshbarger consistently prioritizes small business participation, with over half of her awards directed toward 8(a) competed set-asides. This reflects a deliberate strategy to expand access for disadvantaged businesses while fostering innovation and capacity-building within the emergency management ecosystem. Her contracting patterns demonstrate a balanced yet intentional focus on empowering small, certified firms alongside larger, qualified contractors. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 611430 (Professional and Management Development Training) and 611710 (Educational Support Services), reflecting her role in building responder competency through structured learning solutions. She also regularly procures specialized equipment under NAICS 334516 and 334519, including analytical instruments and control devices used in hazard detection and environmental monitoring. This technical domain expertise enables her to bridge operational needs with precise, standards-compliant acquisitions that directly support FEMA’s preparedness mission.