Mrs. Jamala Peyton joined the Department as the Executive Director of OSDBU on January 29, 2024. As equity in federal procurement is a priority, she has an important role in increasing the Department’s contract awards for U.S. small and small, disadvantaged businesses.

Ms. Peyton brings over 26 years of federal procurement experience and joined the Department after serving as the Deputy Director of Operations for the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) OSDBU. As the Deputy Director, she achieved USAID’s highest small business score on the Small Business Administration (SBA) procurement scorecard. She joined USAID’s OSDBU after serving 11 years as a senior contracting official for USAID’s Office of Acquisition and Assistance (OAA) Washington and Foreign Service Operations. She also served eight years as an OAA Office Director in the Foreign Service for USAID Missions in West Africa, Europe and Eurasia, and the Latin American and Caribbean regions.  In these roles she led USAID missions to increase its contracting with U.S. small businesses for sustainable programmatic results and to help grow the U.S. economy through small business partnerships.

She also served as the Director for the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Health Affairs Acquisition Division where she led the acquisition workforce in support of the Department’s medical and health security component. She also served as DHS’s Associate Director for Science and Technology Acquisition Division leading various procurement efforts in research and development. Ms. Peyton began her career in acquisition at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration where she served as a contracting officer and advocate for small, disadvantaged businesses.

Ms. Peyton earned a Bachelor of Science in Communication and Business Management from Bowie State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. She also holds a Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting Professional.