Petersen, Melissa

Melissa Petersen, doing business as Sierra Family Wellness, is a sole proprietorship registered to receive federal contract awards since April 24, 2020. The entity is classified as a Self Certified Small Disadvantaged Business, For Profit Organization, Woman Owned Small Business, and Woman Owned Business. Sierra Family Wellness primarily provides Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) services to the federal government, specifically to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management National Interagency Fire Center. These services are aimed at supporting mental health needs of personnel involved in wildland fire management and other emergency response situations.

Sierra Family Wellness has been awarded multiple federal contracts to provide CISM services. These contracts have consistently been awarded by the National Interagency Fire Center, a division of the USDA Forest Service. The services provided include licensed clinician support for the Forest Service's National Critical Incident Stress Management program. The contracts are typically structured as Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) calls with firm fixed pricing. The awards have ranged in value from $36,556.41 to $50,000.00, with performance periods generally spanning one year. Most of these contracts have been set aside for small businesses, aligning with Sierra Family Wellness's status as a woman-owned small disadvantaged business. The place of performance for these services is typically Reno, Nevada.

Melissa Petersen, through Sierra Family Wellness, holds a significant federal contract Indefinite Delivery Vehicle (IDV) in the form of a Multiple Award Blanket Purchase Agreement. This BPA, awarded by the Department of Agriculture Forest Service on May 13, 2022, has a ceiling value of $900,000.00 and an ultimate completion date of April 30, 2025. The agreement is specifically for providing CISM services, continuing the entity's focus on supporting mental health needs in emergency response contexts. Under this BPA, multiple task orders have been awarded, including a $50,000 order for clinician services through April 2024 and a $38,463.51 order extending services through April 2023. This IDV allows the Forest Service to streamline the procurement of critical mental health support services for emergency responders as needs arise, particularly in the context of wildland fire management on public lands.