Shawnna Sims

Shawnna Sims serves as a Contract Specialist within the Contracting and Procurement office of the Transportation Security Administration under the Department of Homeland Security, where she plays a pivotal role in advancing the nation’s transportation security infrastructure through strategic acquisitions. She manages the full lifecycle of procurement actions for specialized services critical to aviation and transit security, with a primary focus on human resources consulting services to support workforce development, training, and operational readiness initiatives. Her work directly enables the TSA to maintain a skilled, responsive workforce capable of deploying advanced detection and monitoring technologies across high-risk transportation environments. Shawnna collaborates with a diverse range of vendors, including federal contractors specializing in HR systems, workforce analytics, and organizational development services. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, she consistently engages with firms possessing demonstrated expertise in federal compliance, security clearance processes, and workforce modernization. Her contracting approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, clear statement of work definitions, and rigorous contractor accountability to ensure alignment with TSA’s mission-critical objectives. Her procurement patterns reflect a strong preference for open competition, with 75% of her actions conducted as no set-aside procurements. However, she actively supports small business participation, with 25% of her awards designated as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. This balance underscores her commitment to fostering competition while ensuring equitable access for qualified small businesses, though she does not routinely utilize 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB set-asides. Shawnna’s primary procurement focus is centered on NAICS 541612—Human Resources Consulting Services—encompassing talent acquisition strategy, workforce training program design, organizational change management, and compliance-driven HR system implementation. Her technical domain expertise lies in aligning HR service delivery with federal security workforce standards, ensuring that personnel support solutions meet the rigorous demands of homeland security operations.