Ms. Kathleen Scholefield

Ms. Kathleen Scholefield serves as a key procurement lead within the FA8819 Special Programs Director, Space and Missile Systems Center, under the Department of the Air Force, where she manages high-priority acquisitions for classified space and defense technologies. Her role centers on securing advanced satellite telecommunications systems critical to national security, including space-based interceptors, electromagnetic warfare payloads, and next-generation space domain awareness sensors. She oversees the full lifecycle of complex, mission-critical contracts, ensuring rapid delivery of cutting-edge capabilities aligned with the Air Force’s strategic imperatives in space dominance and secure communications. Her acquisitions are characterized by stringent technical requirements, rapid prototyping timelines, and close coordination with intelligence and operational stakeholders. Her contractor relationships are primarily with prime defense and aerospace firms possessing Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) clearances and proven expertise in space-based communications infrastructure. She collaborates extensively with vendors capable of delivering integrated space-to-space networking solutions, hardened satellite payloads, and secure waveform technologies. While specific vendor names are not publicly disclosed, her contracting patterns reflect a preference for established defense contractors with demonstrated success in classified space programs and agile development environments. Ms. Scholefield’s procurement portfolio reflects no set-aside preferences, with 100% of awards issued under full and open competition. This reflects the highly specialized, classified nature of the programs she supports, where technical capability and security clearance requirements often preclude participation by small business set-asides. Her approach prioritizes mission readiness over socioeconomic targets, aligning with the unique constraints of special access programs. Her primary procurement focus is on NAICS 517410—Satellite Telecommunications—encompassing secure satellite constellations, cross-link communication systems, and space-based data relay networks. She specializes in procuring advanced payloads, ground control segments, and integrated space architecture solutions that enable persistent, resilient, and encrypted space communications for U.S. and allied forces.