Melanie Carter

Melanie Carter serves as a Small Business Program Specialist within the Contracts and Acquisitions Management unit of the Department of Education, where she plays a pivotal role in advancing socioeconomic contracting goals aligned with the agency’s mission to strengthen postsecondary education infrastructure through strategic procurement. She specializes in the planning, execution, and oversight of professional services acquisitions that support educational policy development, regulatory compliance, and federal student aid systems. Her work ensures that contracting activities align with FAR Part 19 small business objectives while integrating technical requirements for administrative, data, and management consulting services. Melanie maintains a consistent partnership with LPE-STRATEGIES LLC, a key contractor providing high-impact management consulting and systems support services. Her contracting patterns reflect a preference for long-term, performance-based engagements with vendors who demonstrate deep expertise in education sector operations and federal compliance frameworks. She actively cultivates relationships with small business contractors capable of delivering tailored solutions in administrative management and technology-enabled service delivery, fostering collaborative, mission-aligned procurement outcomes. Her procurement strategy is heavily oriented toward small business set-asides, with 68.4% of her acquisitions designated as Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5, and an additional 15.8% reserved for HUBZone firms. This reflects a robust, deliberate commitment to expanding economic opportunity for disadvantaged and geographically underserved businesses. Her contracting patterns consistently prioritize socioeconomic inclusion, ensuring that small, disadvantaged, and HUBZone-certified entities have equitable access to federal educational procurement opportunities. Melanie’s primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 541611—Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services—accounting for 84.2% of her portfolio. She also procures specialized services under NAICS 541519 (Other Computer Related Services) and 541219 (Other Accounting Services), reflecting a technical domain expertise in educational systems modernization, data governance, and institutional capacity building. Her acquisitions consistently support the deployment of analytical tools, compliance frameworks, and operational consulting services critical to the Department’s mission.