Marcella Coverson

Marcella Coverson serves as a Small Business Program Specialist within the Contracts and Acquisitions Management unit of the U.S. Department of Education, where she plays a pivotal role in advancing socioeconomic contracting goals and ensuring equitable access to federal opportunities for small businesses. Her responsibilities include designing and implementing small business outreach strategies, validating socioeconomic certifications, and advising contracting teams on set-aside eligibility and compliance with FAR Part 19. She specializes in professional services acquisitions aligned with the agency’s mission to strengthen postsecondary education infrastructure, regulatory compliance, and federal student aid systems, primarily overseeing consulting and management support contracts. Marcella maintains a consistent partnership with LPE-STRATEGIES LLC, a small business contractor frequently selected for administrative management and policy implementation support. Her working relationships reflect a preference for long-term, performance-based engagements with certified small businesses that demonstrate deep expertise in education policy and operational consulting. She actively cultivates vendor capacity through pre-solicitation outreach and mentorship programs, fostering a collaborative procurement environment that prioritizes sustainable small business growth. Her procurement portfolio is overwhelmingly dominated by Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5, accounting for 72.2% of awards, with HUBZone set-asides representing an additional 11.1%. This reflects a deliberate, data-driven commitment to expanding participation by small disadvantaged businesses and businesses located in historically underutilized zones. She ensures rigorous adherence to socioeconomic criteria while promoting transparency and competition within the small business ecosystem. All of her acquisitions fall under NAICS 541611—Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services—indicating a sharp focus on strategic advisory, policy analysis, and operational efficiency support for federal education programs. She procures specialized consulting services that enhance institutional capacity, streamline compliance processes, and support evidence-based decision-making across national education data systems.