Melinda G. Draper

Melinda G. Draper serves as a Contracting Officer for the USDA Forest Service, where she manages a diverse portfolio of acquisitions critical to the agency’s mission of sustaining national forests and grasslands. Her responsibilities include soliciting, awarding, and administering contracts for operational support, logistics, and technical services across remote and high-risk environments. Draper specializes in procurements that enhance wildfire response, ecological restoration, and infrastructure resilience, ensuring compliance with federal acquisition regulations while aligning with the Forest Service’s strategic priorities in emergency preparedness and resource management. Draper maintains consistent working relationships with a select group of contractors, including ACI FEDERAL INC, ONE STOP RECRUITING LLC, GONDO ROY E MD, THE LOCUMS CO, LLC, and AMD INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES LLC. These partnerships reflect a blend of specialized labor services, aviation support, and technology solutions tailored to the unique demands of federal land management. Her contracting approach emphasizes reliability, regulatory compliance, and mission alignment, often engaging vendors with proven experience in remote operations and federal contract performance. Her procurement patterns show a strong preference for open competition, with 66.7% of awards issued without set-aside designations, while 33.3% are structured as Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5. This balanced approach supports broad market participation while ensuring small businesses have equitable access to opportunities aligned with Forest Service needs, particularly in labor-intensive and technical service categories. Draper’s primary NAICS focus includes Nonscheduled Chartered Freight and Passenger Air Transportation (481212 and 481211), reflecting her reliance on aerial support for wildfire suppression and remote site logistics. She also frequently procures Support Activities for Forestry (115310) and Food Service Contractors (722310) to sustain field operations, alongside Custom Computer Programming Services (541511) for mission-critical software solutions. Her expertise lies at the intersection of operational logistics, environmental stewardship, and technical service delivery in austere environments.