Patricia Mara

Patricia Mara serves as a Contract Specialist within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), supporting the agency’s mission to advance scientific understanding of oceanic, atmospheric, and coastal systems through strategic procurement of technical services and specialized equipment. In her role, she manages the full lifecycle of federal acquisitions—from market research and solicitation development to contract award and administration—ensuring compliance with FAR and agency-specific policies. Her portfolio primarily encompasses research support services, environmental monitoring instrumentation, data analytics platforms, and coastal resilience infrastructure contracts, all aligned with NOAA’s priorities in climate science, marine ecosystem protection, and operational forecasting. Patricia maintains consistent working relationships with a select group of established contractors, including the 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 focus on academic, environmental consulting, and technical services firms capable of delivering specialized scientific, engineering, and operational support. Her procurement approach emphasizes performance-based contracting and outcome-driven deliverables, fostering long-term collaborations with vendors who demonstrate technical proficiency and mission alignment. Patricia’s contracting patterns show a strong preference for full and open competition, with no set-asides applied across her portfolio. While she does not routinely utilize 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB programs, her approach prioritizes capability and mission readiness over socioeconomic categorization, ensuring that acquisitions are awarded based on technical merit and proven performance. Her primary procurement focus lies in scientific research support, environmental data collection systems, and coastal management services. She routinely procures specialized instrumentation, remote sensing technologies, modeling software, and field research services that enable NOAA’s observational and predictive capabilities across marine and atmospheric domains. Her expertise centers on complex, science-driven acquisitions requiring rigorous technical evaluation and compliance with federal environmental and data standards.