Michelle M Blake

Michelle M. Blake serves as a Contract Specialist within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), supporting the agency’s mission to advance oceanic, atmospheric, and coastal science through strategic procurement of specialized equipment and technical services. She manages the full lifecycle of acquisitions for complex marine and environmental systems, including instrumentation, research platforms, and mission-critical infrastructure. Her work ensures compliance with federal acquisition regulations while aligning procurements with NOAA’s scientific priorities in weather forecasting, ecosystem monitoring, and maritime safety. Blake routinely handles competitive solicitations for high-technology hardware and engineering services essential to NOAA’s operational and research missions. Blake maintains consistent working relationships with a select group of contractors, including Wisconsin Educational Communications Board, Tronconi Segarra & Associates LLP, JNB Services LLC, Pure Enviro-Management, LLC, and The Regents of the University of Colorado. These partnerships reflect a blend of academic, technical services, and specialized manufacturing vendors capable of delivering customized solutions for oceanographic instrumentation, environmental compliance systems, and marine engineering support. Her contracting approach emphasizes collaboration with firms possessing domain-specific expertise in marine systems and environmental data acquisition. While the majority of her acquisitions are unrestricted, Blake consistently allocates approximately 26.4% of her portfolio to Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5, demonstrating a strong commitment to small business participation. She actively engages with small businesses capable of meeting NOAA’s technical demands, fostering a competitive environment that supports socioeconomic goals without compromising mission readiness. Her procurement focus is heavily concentrated in NAICS 336611 (Ship Building and Repairing), reflecting NOAA’s need for vessel modifications and marine platform integration, followed by 333618 (Other Engine Equipment Manufacturing) for propulsion and auxiliary systems. Additional activity spans 334511 for navigation and detection systems and 333415 for climate-controlled environmental enclosures. Blake’s expertise lies in procuring mission-critical, high-reliability equipment for deployment in austere marine environments.