Tara N. Upchurch

Tara N. Upchurch serves as a Contract Specialist responsible for managing the full lifecycle of procurement actions within the federal energy and infrastructure sector. Her role encompasses the development, solicitation, evaluation, and award of complex contracts aligned with national energy security objectives. She ensures compliance with federal acquisition regulations while facilitating timely and cost-effective delivery of critical petroleum refining services and related infrastructure support. Her acquisitions are primarily performance-based, emphasizing outcomes over inputs, and often involve long-term service agreements requiring technical oversight and contract administration expertise. While specific contractor names are not available, Tara consistently engages with a broad base of qualified vendors capable of delivering specialized refining operations, maintenance, and technical support services. Her contracting patterns reflect a preference for established industry participants with proven capabilities in refinery engineering, process optimization, and environmental compliance. She fosters collaborative vendor relationships grounded in transparency, accountability, and performance metrics, ensuring contractors meet stringent operational and safety standards. Tara’s procurement portfolio is entirely non-set-aside, with 100% of her awards issued under full and open competition. This reflects a strategic focus on maximizing market participation from all qualified entities, regardless of socioeconomic designation. While she does not prioritize 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB set-asides, her process remains inclusive, ensuring all vendors—large and small—compete on equal footing based on technical merit, past performance, and price reasonableness. Her primary procurement focus is on NAICS 324110, Petroleum Refineries, encompassing the acquisition of engineering services, maintenance contracts, process control systems, and operational support for refining facilities. She specializes in procuring complex technical services related to crude oil processing, emissions control, catalyst management, and refinery automation. Her domain expertise lies in the energy infrastructure lifecycle, with deep familiarity with DOE and EPA compliance requirements, hazardous material handling protocols, and industrial safety standards.