Former DHS top buyer joins trade group to lead revived knowledge hub
Longtime DHS official Soraya Correa is the new executive director of the Contract Management Institute. Zaid Hamid
Soraya Correa will lead the Contract Management Institute at the National Contract Management Association.
Soraya Correa, the former chief procurement officer at the Department of Homeland Security, will serve as executive director of the Contract Management Institute, an initiative of the National Contract Management Association.
Correa, who retired from the federal government in 2021 after a career spanning nearly 40 years, will lead an effort to revive the institute, which is designed to serve as a knowledge hub for contract management professionals.
At DHS, Correa introduced a raft of procurement initiatives, including the launch of the Procurement Innovation Labs, reverse industry days and the failed but innovative Flexible Agile Support for the Homeland contract designed to introduce agile development at scale to the department.
While the FLASH contract was ultimately canceled, Correa won plaudits from industry for being willing both to experiment boldly with new ideas and to pull the plug when it became clear the effort wasn't working as designed.
"Contract management is pivotal to mission delivery and successful business outcomes," Correa said in a statement included in a press release announcing her appointment. "I am committed to providing today and tomorrow’s contracting professionals with the knowledge and tools they need to excel in their roles. I look forward to collaborating with federal, state and local government, industry leaders, academia and others to drive innovation, promote excellence and elevate the contract management profession."
Correa started her federal government career as a GS-4 clerk/typist and subsequently went to night school to train on procurement and grants management subjects before joining the Naval Sea Systems Command as a contract specialist. She went on to serve in increasingly senior roles at NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency and Citizenship and Immigration Services before joining DHS headquarters as the top buyer.
Correa has won multiple FCW Federal 100 awards, most recently in 2022, and was also the 2022 recipient of GovExec's Catalyst Award.