Tia Belton

Tia Belton serves as a secondary procurement liaison within the Maritime Administration, supporting the agency’s mission to sustain national maritime infrastructure and ensure the readiness of the National Defense Reserve Fleet. While not the primary contracting officer, Belton plays a critical role in facilitating acquisition planning, vendor coordination, and contract administration for technical and operational support services. Her work directly enables the modernization of maritime assets and the maintenance of critical logistics capabilities, with a focus on procurements tied to vessel readiness, training support, and infrastructure resilience. She typically handles non-severable services and specialized equipment acquisitions aligned with the agency’s strategic priorities. Belton maintains an active working relationship with CONNECTA SATELLITE SOLUTIONS LLC, a key vendor providing secure satellite communications and data transmission systems essential for maritime operations. Her procurement patterns reflect a reliance on niche technology providers capable of delivering ruggedized, mission-critical solutions for remote and high-seas environments. She collaborates closely with contractors who demonstrate compliance with federal cybersecurity standards and maritime operational requirements, fostering long-term partnerships with vendors possessing proven domain expertise. Her contracting portfolio reflects an even split between open competitions and Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5, underscoring a deliberate commitment to expanding small business participation in maritime support services. While no other socioeconomic set-asides are dominant, her consistent use of small business set-asides signals a strategic intent to cultivate a diverse supplier base capable of meeting the agency’s specialized needs. Belton’s procurement focus centers on NAICS 221122 (Electric Power Distribution) and 561311 (Employment Placement Agencies), indicating a dual emphasis on shore-based power infrastructure for maritime facilities and workforce development services for the Merchant Marine. She procures electrical grid modernization components, training support systems, and personnel placement solutions that directly enable the operational readiness of the U.S. Merchant Marine and the United States Merchant Marine Academy.