Michelle Fullard

Michelle Fullard serves as a key procurement lead within the Air Force Research Laboratory’s R&GK division, supporting the Department of the Air Force’s mission to advance next-generation aerospace and information systems. She manages complex acquisitions in software development, data analytics, and mission-critical computing infrastructure, ensuring alignment with national defense priorities in battlespace awareness, command and control, and intelligence fusion. Her portfolio centers on R&D-driven contracts that integrate proprietary and commercial platforms to enhance operational decision-making, with a focus on agile, secure, and scalable technical solutions. Fullard maintains a strategic partnership with COLLABORATION.AI, LLC, a Minneapolis-based firm specializing in AI-driven analytics and mission-critical software platforms. Her contracting patterns reflect a preference for collaborative, innovation-focused vendor relationships, often engaging firms with proven expertise in machine learning, real-time data processing, and secure cloud-native architectures. She fosters long-term engagement with contractors capable of rapid prototyping and iterative delivery, aligning with agile acquisition frameworks and other modern contracting methodologies. Her procurement strategy reflects a balanced commitment to socioeconomic diversity, with approximately equal distribution between total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5 and open competitions. This deliberate approach ensures robust competition while actively promoting participation from small businesses with specialized technical capabilities in defense-relevant domains. She consistently prioritizes vendors certified under small business programs, reinforcing the agency’s mandate to cultivate a resilient, innovative supplier base. Fullard’s primary NAICS focus spans 541715 (R&D in physical and engineering sciences) and 334118 (computer peripheral equipment manufacturing), reflecting her expertise in procuring advanced software systems and specialized computing hardware. She routinely sources AI-enabled analytics tools, secure edge computing devices, and integrated data fusion platforms, demonstrating deep technical fluency in defense-oriented information systems. Her work bridges the gap between cutting-edge research and operational deployment, ensuring that procurement decisions directly enable warfighter capabilities.