Maria Baquerizo-Poole

Maria Baquerizo-Poole serves as a key procurement lead within Mschq Norfolk, supporting the Department of the Navy’s mission to sustain operational readiness of surface and auxiliary fleet assets. She manages the acquisition of mission-critical maritime logistics services, with a primary focus on deep-sea freight transportation under NAICS 483111. Her responsibilities include planning, soliciting, awarding, and administering contracts that ensure the timely movement of naval supplies, spare parts, and equipment across global maritime routes. Her work directly enables fleet deployment cycles by securing reliable, high-capacity marine transport solutions that meet stringent Department of Defense standards for security, compliance, and operational continuity. She maintains strategic partnerships with a select group of experienced contractors, including EXXONMOBIL MARINE LIMITED, VIGOR MARINE LLC, and BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON INC, each providing specialized maritime logistics, vessel maintenance, and operational support services. Her contracting approach emphasizes long-term vendor reliability, performance-based outcomes, and compliance with naval operational protocols. She also engages niche providers such as ONTIC ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING, INC and FOREIGN POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC to address specialized technical and strategic planning requirements unique to naval sustainment operations. Baquerizo-Poole demonstrates an unwavering commitment to small business participation, with 100% of her acquisitions structured as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. This reflects a deliberate strategy to cultivate capacity within the small business industrial base, ensuring equitable access to naval logistics contracts and fostering innovation from agile, locally rooted vendors. Her contracting patterns consistently prioritize socioeconomic programs aligned with the Navy’s broader diversity and resilience goals. Her technical expertise is narrowly focused on deep-sea freight transportation, encompassing ocean-going cargo vessels, roll-on/roll-off services, and intermodal logistics coordination for military cargo. She specializes in procuring services that meet MIL-STD and MARAD requirements, ensuring seamless integration with Navy fleet sustainment timelines and global deployment architectures.