WHS Welcomes Soraya Correa, CPO, DHS April 13

WHS is very pleased to welcome back Soraya Correa — appointed as the Department of Homeland Security’s Chief Procurement Officer in January 2015. Ms. Correa provides leadership, policy, oversight, support and professional workforce development for the DHS contracting workforce of approximately 1,500 individuals including the nine operational contracting activities, each of which is led by a Head of Contracting Activity supporting the DHS Components. As the Senior Procurement Executive she also oversees a centralized certification and training program for the DHS acquisition workforce and assists the Chief Acquisition Officer in managing major acquisition programs ensuring each has a sound acquisition strategy, conforms to the Secretary’s Unity of Effort initiative, and fully supports DHS mission needs.

Prior to being appointed as the DHS Chief Procurement Officer, Ms. Correa served as the Associate Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Enterprise Services Directorate and was responsible for delivering identity, immigration status, and employment authorization information in support of the USCIS mission. She joined USCIS in January 2011 as the first Deputy Associate Director of the Management Directorate, where she led key management and infrastructure services to support the USCIS mission. In that role, Ms. Correa was responsible for the Offices of the Chief Financial Officer, Information Technology, Human Capital and Training, Contracting, Administration, Intake and Document Production, Equal Opportunity and Inclusion, and Security and Integrity.

Ms. Correa has held key leadership positions at several Federal agencies including the Naval Sea Systems Command, General Services Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Immigration and Naturalization Service , Department of Homeland Security Headquarters and USCIS. Before joining USCIS, Ms. Correa served as the Executive Director of the DHS Office of Procurement Operations and the Director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Procurement.

Her accomplishments as a leader and acquisitions professional are well recognized by the federal government and industry where she has received several awards including the Chief Acquisitions Officers Council’s Individual Award for Excellence, Federal 100, and Public Sector Partner of the Year.

Ms. Correa has an undergraduate certificate in Acquisitions Management from The American University in Washington, D. C. and a B.A. in Management from National–Louis University.