Sarah Mahlik

Sarah Mahlik serves as a key procurement lead within the Community Survivor Assistance SEC under the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where she manages acquisitions critical to rapid disaster response and survivor housing stabilization. Her responsibilities center on securing temporary, transportable residential solutions and associated operational infrastructure to support displaced populations following major emergencies. She oversees the full lifecycle of contracts for modular housing units, utility support systems, and mobile service centers, ensuring compliance with federal standards for safety, scalability, and rapid deployment. Mahlik’s work directly enables FEMA’s mission to restore dignified living conditions in the immediate aftermath of disasters, making her a pivotal figure in the agency’s emergency response procurement ecosystem. Mahlik collaborates with a broad spectrum of vendors specializing in prefabricated housing, modular construction, and temporary infrastructure systems. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, she consistently engages manufacturers and logistics providers with proven capabilities in rapid deployment housing, including firms experienced in ANSI/AISC-compliant units and FEMA-approved temporary dwelling systems. Her contracting approach emphasizes performance-based specifications and delivery timelines over cost alone, fostering partnerships with vendors who can meet stringent operational readiness requirements under compressed schedules. Mahlik’s procurement patterns reflect a strong preference for open competition, with 100% of her acquisitions conducted without set-aside designations. This approach prioritizes maximizing vendor capacity and speed of response over socioeconomic targeting, though it does not preclude participation from small, 8(a), or HUBZone firms that meet technical criteria. Her strategy aligns with FEMA’s emergency response imperatives, where availability, reliability, and scalability outweigh traditional socioeconomic preferences. Her primary focus lies in NAICS 531110—Lessors of Residential Buildings and Dwellings—where she procures temporary housing solutions including relocatable units, containerized dwellings, and integrated utility packages. She specializes in acquisitions involving modular, non-permanent structures designed for rapid installation and deactivation, demonstrating deep expertise in emergency housing standards, transportation logistics, and compliance with HUD and FEMA’s Temporary Housing Program guidelines.