Susan Graves

Susan Graves serves as a Contracting Officer Representative for the USDA Forest Service, supporting the agency’s mission to sustain public access to forested lands through resilient infrastructure development. In this role, she provides critical oversight of construction and maintenance contracts, ensuring compliance with federal acquisition regulations and technical specifications. She works closely with contracting officers to monitor contractor performance, manage deliverables, and enforce quality standards on projects ranging from trail and road rehabilitation to bridge replacement and campground modernization. Her expertise lies in the execution of complex, mission-critical acquisitions that directly support forest infrastructure resilience and public safety. Graves maintains consistent working relationships with key contractors including GCS LLC, ACME ASPHALT INDUSTRIES INC, and TwentyoneTwentyseven LLC, all of whom deliver specialized civil construction and facility maintenance services. Her procurement approach emphasizes long-term vendor partnerships grounded in reliability, technical proficiency, and adherence to environmental and safety protocols. She actively collaborates with these firms to align project execution with Forest Service operational timelines and ecological compliance requirements, fostering a performance-driven contracting environment. Her procurement patterns reflect a strong commitment to socioeconomic goals, with HUBZone set-asides accounting for two-thirds of her acquisitions and total small business set-asides comprising the remainder. This pattern underscores her dedication to expanding economic opportunity in underserved rural communities and ensuring that small businesses play a central role in delivering essential forest infrastructure services. Graves specializes in acquisitions under NAICS 238160 (Roofing Contractors) and 236220 (Commercial and Institutional Building Construction), focusing on durable, weather-resistant infrastructure solutions for remote and high-traffic forest sites. Her technical domain expertise includes stormwater management systems, erosion control, and structural enhancements for recreational and administrative facilities, ensuring that all projects meet rigorous federal standards for sustainability and longevity.