Mary J. Harding

Mary Harding serves as Chief of Contracting and Contracting Officer for the Department of Defense Education Activity’s Pacific Region Office, overseeing the full lifecycle of procurement actions critical to sustaining K–12 educational services for military-connected students across the Indo-Pacific theater. In this leadership role, she ensures compliance with federal acquisition regulations while aligning contracting strategies with the agency’s mission of academic continuity, infrastructure resilience, and student safety. Her portfolio encompasses a broad range of acquisitions including facility modernization, transportation services, food service operations, and specialized construction, requiring meticulous risk management and stakeholder coordination across geographically dispersed installations. While specific contractor names are not publicly disclosed, Ms. Harding maintains robust partnerships with a diverse pool of vendors capable of delivering mission-critical services under stringent DoD standards. Her procurement patterns reflect a preference for contractors with proven experience in overseas operations, cultural adaptability, and the ability to meet exigent operational timelines in remote locations. She fosters long-term vendor relationships grounded in performance accountability, quality assurance, and adherence to federal compliance frameworks such as FAR and DFARS. Ms. Harding demonstrates a strong commitment to socioeconomic contracting, with the majority of her acquisitions conducted under open competition (81.6%), yet consistently allocating over 18% of opportunities to small business set-asides, including HUBZone and Total Small Business categories. Her office actively promotes participation from disadvantaged and geographically targeted firms, reinforcing DoD’s broader goals of equitable access and community economic development within the Pacific theater. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS categories including 517919 (Other Telecommunications), 485410 (School and Employee Bus Transportation), 722310 (Food Service Contractors), and 238160/238390 (Roofing and Other Building Finishing Contractors). This reflects deep expertise in procuring infrastructure support, student mobility solutions, and facility maintenance services essential to operating high-functioning schools in austere and remote environments.