Tahesha C. Cheyney

Tahesha C. Cheyney serves as a Purchasing Agent for the Department of Defense Education Activity’s Americas Regional Office, where she plays a pivotal role in executing procurement actions that support the educational and therapeutic needs of military-connected students. She manages a diverse portfolio of acquisitions spanning facility operations, student transportation, and specialized health services, ensuring compliance with federal acquisition regulations and mission-critical service delivery. Her work directly enables the agency’s mandate to provide equitable, high-quality K–12 education and related support services across domestic and overseas installations. Cheyney maintains collaborative relationships with a broad spectrum of vendors, particularly small businesses and specialized service providers that deliver essential non-clinical and operational support. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, she consistently engages firms capable of delivering reliable, scalable solutions in moving services, equipment leasing, and therapeutic support infrastructure. Her procurement approach emphasizes vendor responsiveness, regulatory adherence, and mission alignment over volume-based relationships. A strong advocate for socioeconomic contracting, Cheyney prioritizes small business participation, with 83.3% of her acquisitions set aside under the FAR 19.5 Small Business Set-Aside program. This reflects a deliberate strategy to foster economic opportunity among small, disadvantaged, and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses, aligning with DoD’s broader goals of inclusive contracting. Her consistent use of set-asides demonstrates a proactive commitment to expanding market access for underrepresented vendors. Her procurement focus centers on NAICS codes related to commercial equipment leasing (532490), HVAC and refrigeration manufacturing (333415), household and office moving services (484210), educational publishing and content delivery (511210), and therapeutic services (621340). This technical specialization underscores her expertise in acquiring mission-enabling goods and services that directly support student mobility, facility functionality, and therapeutic care—critical components of the DoDEA mission.