Melissa A. Vaughn

Melissa A. Vaughn serves as the primary contracting professional for the W07V Endist New Orleans under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, overseeing the acquisition of civil infrastructure projects critical to Gulf Coast resilience. She manages a diverse portfolio of construction and engineering contracts focused on flood risk reduction, coastal restoration, and hydraulic system development. Her role involves the full lifecycle procurement of large-scale public works, from solicitation through contract award and administration, ensuring alignment with federal regulations and mission-critical objectives in water resource management. Vaughn’s acquisitions are primarily centered on heavy civil engineering and technical engineering services essential to protecting vulnerable Louisiana waterways. Vaughn maintains longstanding partnerships with leading contractors specializing in dredging, marine construction, and heavy civil works, including WEEKS MARINE, INC., M.R. PITTMAN GROUP, L.L.C., and MUDDY WATER DREDGING, LP. These relationships reflect a consistent reliance on firms with proven expertise in complex hydraulic projects, sediment management, and coastal infrastructure. Her procurement patterns indicate a preference for experienced, technically capable vendors capable of executing high-risk, environmentally sensitive construction in challenging aquatic environments, often involving specialized equipment and regulatory compliance under the Clean Water Act and Army Corps permitting protocols. While the majority of her acquisitions are conducted as unrestricted procurements (79.2%), Vaughn demonstrates measurable commitment to small business participation, with consistent use of Total Small Business Set-Asides (13.0%) and targeted support for Women-Owned Small Businesses (3.9%) and HUBZone firms (2.6%). Her socioeconomic contracting patterns reflect a balanced approach—prioritizing technical capability while actively fostering opportunities for qualified small businesses in the civil construction sector. Her procurement focus is overwhelmingly concentrated in NAICS 237990 (Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction), with significant ancillary activity in engineering services (541330). She routinely procures services related to levee construction, channel dredging, erosion control, and structural flood mitigation systems, demonstrating deep technical expertise in hydraulic engineering and civil works project delivery.