Marolyn S. Cross

Marolyn S. Cross serves as a Contract Specialist within the Incident Support Section (ISS70) of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where she plays a pivotal role in enabling rapid, mission-critical acquisitions to sustain emergency response and recovery operations. Her responsibilities encompass the full lifecycle of procurement activities—from market research and solicitation development to contract award and administration—ensuring compliance with federal acquisition regulations while aligning with the agency’s imperative to deliver life-sustaining services during domestic disasters. She routinely manages acquisitions for technical, logistical, and operational support services essential to maintaining continuity of government functions in austere environments. While specific contractor names are not available, Cross engages with a diverse pool of vendors capable of delivering scalable, mission-responsive solutions under time-sensitive conditions. Her working relationships reflect a preference for agile, qualified contractors with proven experience in emergency support domains, including those capable of mobilizing rapidly to incident sites. She fosters collaborative partnerships with vendors who demonstrate operational flexibility, cybersecurity readiness, and compliance with federal service standards. Cross demonstrates a strong commitment to socioeconomic contracting, with over 50% of her acquisitions conducted as open competitions, while nearly 42% are structured as Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5. An additional 8.3% are competed under the 8(a) program, underscoring her active engagement with small disadvantaged businesses. Her procurement patterns reflect a deliberate strategy to expand opportunities for small businesses while maintaining operational readiness. Her primary NAICS focus includes 518210 for computing infrastructure and data hosting services, critical to emergency communications and situational awareness systems. She also regularly procures claims adjusting (524291), temporary lodging (721110), catering (722320), and hydroelectric power generation (221111) services—reflecting the multifaceted nature of disaster response, from survivor support to infrastructure resilience. Her expertise lies in integrating diverse service domains to ensure holistic emergency operational continuity.