Melissa A Conn

Melissa A. Conn serves as a Contract Specialist for the Allegheny National Forest under the U.S. Forest Service, where she manages the full lifecycle of procurement actions supporting forest management and public land stewardship. Her responsibilities include soliciting, evaluating, and awarding contracts for critical infrastructure, ecological restoration, and operational support services aligned with the agency’s mission to sustain forest health and wildfire resilience. She specializes in complex acquisitions involving environmental remediation, vegetation control, and civil engineering projects, ensuring compliance with federal procurement regulations and agency-specific conservation objectives. Conn maintains consistent working relationships with key contractors including Boh Environmental, L.L.C. and AMD INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES LLC, firms with proven expertise in ecological services and forestry support. Her procurement approach emphasizes technical proficiency, performance-based outcomes, and long-term vendor collaboration, particularly with contractors experienced in herbicide application, habitat restoration, and forest infrastructure maintenance. These partnerships reflect a preference for specialized, mission-aligned vendors capable of executing sensitive environmental work under stringent regulatory frameworks. A strong advocate for small business participation, Conn consistently prioritizes Total Small Business Set-Asides, which account for nearly 60% of her acquisitions, reflecting a deliberate strategy to expand economic opportunity within the forestry sector. She also actively utilizes HUBZone and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business set-asides, demonstrating a robust commitment to socioeconomic contracting goals under FAR Part 19. Her portfolio reflects a balanced approach to fostering competition while ensuring access for underserved small businesses in rural and forest-adjacent communities. Her primary procurement focus centers on NAICS 237310 (Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction) and 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry), encompassing road maintenance, trail construction, invasive species management, and forestry support services. She also regularly procures surveying, mapping, and specialty trade contracting services essential to ecological monitoring and infrastructure planning, showcasing deep technical familiarity with the operational needs of national forest management.