Molly Shea

Molly A. Shea serves as a Contract Specialist within the U.S. Census Bureau, where she plays a pivotal role in executing procurements that support the agency’s mission to modernize data collection and dissemination systems. She manages the full lifecycle of acquisitions for technical and analytical services critical to the 2030 Decennial Census and ongoing survey operations, including systems design, research services, and workforce training. Her work ensures compliance with federal procurement regulations while aligning contract awards with the Bureau’s strategic priorities in digital transformation, geospatial analytics, and data integrity. She routinely handles complex, performance-based contracts for IT-enabled solutions and mission-critical research services. Molly cultivates partnerships with a diverse range of vendors specializing in computer systems design, social science research, and professional training services. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, she engages with firms possessing deep expertise in census methodology, data infrastructure, and survey automation. Her contracting approach emphasizes technical capability, past performance, and scalability to meet the Bureau’s evolving operational demands. She works closely with program offices to define requirements and ensure contract deliverables align with federal data standards and privacy protocols. Molly’s procurement patterns reflect a strong preference for open competition, with 100% of her acquisitions issued as non-set-aside actions. This indicates a focus on selecting the most qualified vendors regardless of socioeconomic status, consistent with the Bureau’s need for specialized technical capacity. While she does not prioritize 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB set-asides, her process remains fully compliant with all small business participation goals, and she actively considers small businesses when they demonstrate requisite technical expertise. Her primary NAICS focus areas include Other Computer Related Services, Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities, and Computer Systems Design Services, reflecting her specialization in digital data collection systems, survey methodology development, and analytical support. She frequently procures services related to software integration, survey platform modernization, and workforce upskilling in advanced data analytics, underscoring her technical acumen in public-sector data innovation.