Stephanie Mbelu

Stephanie Mbelu serves as a key procurement lead within the W07V Endist New Orleans office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, supporting critical civil infrastructure initiatives across the Gulf Coast. She manages the acquisition lifecycle for large-scale hydraulic and civil works projects focused on flood risk reduction, coastal restoration, and water resource management. Her responsibilities include planning, soliciting, awarding, and administering contracts for complex engineering systems, ensuring alignment with federal regulations and mission-driven outcomes. Mbelu routinely handles high-complexity acquisitions under the Federal Acquisition Regulation, emphasizing technical compliance, performance-based requirements, and long-term operational resilience in vulnerable aquatic environments. She maintains sustained working relationships with leading contractors specializing in heavy civil construction and dredging operations, including WEEKS MARINE, INC., M.R. PITTMAN GROUP, L.L.C., and MUDDY WATER DREDGING, LP. These partnerships reflect a preference for firms with proven expertise in marine construction, sediment management, and structural civil works. Her contracting approach prioritizes contractor capacity, past performance in similar environments, and adherence to environmental and safety standards, fostering reliable, mission-critical delivery of infrastructure solutions. Mbelu’s procurement portfolio reflects a strong emphasis on open competition, with 73.9% of awards issued without set-asides. Nevertheless, she actively supports small business participation, consistently allocating approximately 17.4% of contracts as total small business set-asides, with additional allocations to Women-Owned Small Businesses and 8(a) firms. This balanced approach ensures competitive integrity while advancing socioeconomic goals mandated by federal procurement policy. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 237990 (Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction), reflecting deep expertise in levee systems, channel stabilization, and flood control structures. She also procures related services in commercial building construction, machinery maintenance, and specialized rubber and plastic components used in hydraulic systems, demonstrating a technically nuanced understanding of civil works engineering and infrastructure lifecycle support.