Vanessa Lechon

Vanessa Lechon serves as a key procurement professional within the 693JJ3 Acquisition and Grants Management unit of the Federal Highway Administration, supporting the Department of Transportation’s mission to enhance the safety, resilience, and innovation of the nation’s highway infrastructure. She manages a portfolio of technical and professional service acquisitions, primarily focused on engineering consulting, transportation research, and operational analysis. Her work ensures that data-driven solutions inform infrastructure design and policy, enabling evidence-based decision-making across federal highway programs. She routinely oversees the solicitation, evaluation, and award of contracts for specialized technical services that support advanced mobility studies, safety assessments, and systems engineering. Lechon maintains consistent relationships with high-capacity contractors including K & M Transportation Services LLC and the University of California, Los Angeles, reflecting a preference for established entities with proven expertise in transportation systems analysis and applied research. Her contracting patterns emphasize long-term, performance-based engagements with vendors capable of delivering complex, mission-critical technical services. These partnerships are typically structured as indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) or cost-reimbursement contracts, emphasizing quality, innovation, and technical rigor over price alone. Her set-aside preferences show a strong orientation toward open competition, with 94.1% of awards issued under full and open procurement without socioeconomic set-asides. Only 5.9% of contracts are competed under the 8(a) program, indicating a focus on technical merit and capability rather than socioeconomic preferences. While small business participation is present, it is not a primary driver of her acquisition strategy. Lechon’s procurement activity is dominated by NAICS 813920 (Professional Organizations), reflecting her central focus on contracting for expert technical advisory services, research institutes, and specialized consulting firms. She also procures professional development training, administrative management consulting, and accounting services to support operational efficiency. Her domain expertise lies in transportation engineering, infrastructure analytics, and applied research services that directly inform federal highway policy and design standards.