Tia Ragsdale

Tia Ragsdale serves as a key procurement professional within the IBC Acquisition Services Directorate (140D04), supporting the Department of the Interior’s mission to sustain federal land management and public trust assets through specialized technical services. She manages the acquisition of professional and operational support contracts critical to real estate valuation, aviation logistics, scientific research, and infrastructure systems design. Her work ensures that mission-critical capabilities are delivered by qualified vendors to maintain the integrity of federal landholdings and resource stewardship programs, with a focus on high-precision, mission-dependent services requiring technical expertise and regulatory compliance. Ragsdale maintains consistent contracting relationships with specialized aviation and technical service providers, including Phoenix Air Group, Inc., Papillon Airways Inc., Brainerd Helicopters, Inc., HMC Helicopter Service LLC, and Mathematica Inc. These partnerships reflect a reliance on niche vendors capable of delivering airborne survey operations, scientific data collection, and geospatial analysis under demanding environmental conditions. Her procurement approach emphasizes performance-based contracting, with a preference for contractors demonstrating proven experience in federal land management support and adherence to federal aviation and environmental standards. Ragsdale’s acquisition portfolio exhibits no set-aside preferences, with 100% of awards issued under full and open competition. This reflects a strategic alignment with the agency’s need for highly specialized, non-commoditized services where only a limited pool of qualified vendors possess the technical credentials and operational capacity to meet mission requirements. While small business participation is not formally prioritized through socioeconomic set-asides, the contracting environment inherently supports niche small businesses that meet stringent technical qualifications. Her primary procurement focus is under NAICS 621999—All Other Miscellaneous Ambulatory Health Care Services—which, in this context, is applied to specialized airborne medical transport and scientific field support operations critical to remote land management and ecological monitoring. She procures services including aerial surveillance, environmental sampling logistics, and mobile diagnostic support for field personnel, demonstrating deep domain expertise in integrating aviation and health-related technical services into federal land stewardship operations.