DHS procurement chief Correa to retire

Department of Homeland Security Chief Procurement Officer Soraya Correa is set to retire from the government.

Correa will step down from the role at the end of July, a spokesperson at DHS confirmed.

She has held the role at DHS since January 2015 and steps down after 40 years in federal acquisition management. During her tenure in the role, Correa has been one of the preeminent thought leaders in federal acquisition reform and injecting innovation into procurement, particularly through the launch of the Procurement Innovation Lab at DHS.

In a 2019 podcast, discussing the importance of acquisition to IT modernization, Correa told FedScoop: “The role of procurement is the same whether it’s with IT modernization or supporting the overall mission of the department. We’re really there to enable folks to deliver on their mission. So when it comes to IT modernization, what we’re trying to do is collaborate and cooperate with our partners in [the Office of the] CIO, help them find the right solutions to meet their needs, try to understand what it is that they’re trying to modernize, how they’re trying to go about it, what are some of the complexities, what are some of the issues they have, what kind of flexibilities do they need, how are they going to fund these things, so that we can devise the right procurement strategy to meet their overall needs.”

Before working at DHS, Correa was associate director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Enterprise Service Directorate, a role in which she was responsible for delivering identity, immigration status and employment authorization information.

Earlier in her career she has also held leadership positions at federal agencies, including the Naval Sea Systems Command, General Services Administration, NASA, and Immigration and Naturalization Service.

DHS has yet to appoint an acting chief procurement officer.

Federal News Network first reported Correa’s retirement announcement.