Stephanie Girard

Stephanie Girard serves as a Contracting Officer within the Contracts and Acquisitions Management unit of the Department of Education, where she manages the procurement of professional services critical to advancing federal education policy, research, and institutional capacity. Her portfolio centers on strategic acquisitions that support evidence-based decision-making, regulatory compliance, and the modernization of federal student aid and data systems. She routinely handles complex service contracts under the Federal Acquisition Regulation, focusing on consulting, technical support, and educational infrastructure development, ensuring alignment with agency priorities and statutory procurement requirements. Girard maintains a consistent working relationship with LPE-STRATEGIES LLC as her primary contractor, reflecting a pattern of sustained collaboration on high-priority initiatives. Her procurement approach emphasizes performance-based contracting and outcome-driven deliverables, fostering long-term partnerships with vendors who demonstrate deep expertise in education policy and administrative systems. While she engages a range of service providers, her contracting patterns reveal a preference for established contractors with proven track records in federal education environments. Her set-aside preferences reflect a strong but balanced commitment to small business participation, with 22.7% of her awards designated as Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5, while the majority—77.3%—remain open to all competitors. She does not routinely utilize specialized socioeconomic set-asides such as 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB, instead prioritizing broad small business eligibility to encourage competitive bidding while maintaining efficiency in acquisition execution. Girard’s procurement focus is concentrated in NAICS 611710 (Educational Support Services) and 541611 (Administrative Management Consulting), with additional activity in 541990 and 541618. She specializes in acquiring services related to curriculum development, institutional effectiveness analysis, data system optimization, and policy implementation support. Her technical domain expertise lies at the intersection of federal education compliance, performance measurement, and operational modernization within postsecondary education systems.