Maria Baquerizo-Poole

Maria Baquerizo-Poole serves as a key procurement specialist within Washington Headquarters Services, supporting the Department of Defense’s mission to modernize institutional management systems and enhance enterprise-wide operational efficiency. Though holding a secondary role, she plays a critical part in executing strategic acquisitions aligned with WHS’s focus on administrative modernization and technical services. Her portfolio primarily encompasses professional training, legal services, and specialized equipment procurement, ensuring DoD components receive high-quality, compliant support services that enable mission readiness and institutional resilience. She maintains established relationships with a select group of contractors including Clarity Innovations LLC, Cynergy Professional Systems LLC, Signature Renovations LLC, AMD International Technologies LLC, and Guidehouse Inc., reflecting a preference for experienced vendors capable of delivering complex, mission-critical solutions. Her contracting patterns suggest a reliance on firms with proven expertise in organizational development, regulatory compliance, and infrastructure support, indicating a pattern of partnering with vendors who combine technical capability with deep domain knowledge in defense enterprise operations. Her procurement strategy prioritizes small business participation, with 50% of acquisitions set aside for total small businesses and an additional 25% reserved for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB), demonstrating a strong commitment to socioeconomic contracting goals under FAR Part 19. This balanced approach ensures broad vendor access while maintaining quality and reliability in service delivery. Her primary NAICS focus lies in Professional and Management Development Training (611430), reflecting a core emphasis on workforce capability building across DoD staff. She also procures specialized legal services (541199) and industrial material handling equipment (333924), indicating expertise in both human capital development and physical infrastructure support. This dual focus underscores her role in enabling both administrative and operational readiness through targeted, compliance-driven acquisitions.