Thomas James Vilsack is an American politician. He served as the 30th and 32nd United States secretary of agriculture from 2009 to 2017,during the Obama administration,and again from 2021 to 2025 during the Biden administration. A member of the Democratic Party,he served as the 40th governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007.
Ann Margaret Veneman is an American attorney who served as the fifth executive director of UNICEF from 2005 to 2010. She previously served as the 27th United States secretary of agriculture from 2001 to 2005. Veneman served for the entire first term of President George W. Bush,and she left to take the UNICEF position. Appointed by the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on January 18,2005,she took over the post on May 1,2005,serving until 2010. Previously,she also served as secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture,serving from 1995 to 1999,as well as United States deputy secretary of agriculture,serving from 1991 to 1993. Veneman was the first woman to serve as Secretary of Agriculture and the second woman to lead UNICEF,following her predecessor,Carol Bellamy.
James "Tama Jim" Wilson was an American politician who served as United States secretary of agriculture for sixteen years during three presidencies,from 1897 to 1913. He holds the record as the longest serving United States Cabinet member.
The Economic Research Service (ERS) is a component of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and a principal agency of the Federal Statistical System of the United States. It provides information and research on agriculture and economics.
The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) is the foreign affairs agency with primary responsibility for the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) overseas programs –market development,international trade agreements and negotiations,and the collection of statistics and market information. It also administers the USDA's export credit guarantee and food aid programs and helps increase income and food availability in developing nations by mobilizing expertise for agriculturally led economic growth. The FAS mission statement reads,"Linking U.S. agriculture to the world to enhance export opportunities and global food security," and its motto is "Linking U.S. Agriculture to the World."
The Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services was the third-ranking official in the United States Department of Agriculture prior to reorganization of several mission areas,announced on May 11,2017. The mission area of USDA's purpose was to "help to keep America's farmers and ranchers in business as they face the uncertainties of weather and markets..." and that "...deliver[s] commodity,credit,conservation,disaster,and emergency assistance programs that help improve the stability and strength of the agricultural economy." The Under Secretary was traditionally appointed to serve as the President of the Commodity Credit Corporation.
The Under Secretary for Research,Education,and Economics is a high-ranking official within the United States Department of Agriculture that provides leadership and oversight for the Agricultural Research Service,National Institute of Food and Agriculture,Economic Research Service,National Agricultural Library,National Agricultural Statistics Service.
William Howard Northey was an American politician who served as the Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation in the United States Department of Agriculture from 2018 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party,he previously served as the Secretary of Agriculture of Iowa,first elected on November 7,2006,and sworn in on January 2,2007. In that position he led the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
Henry Charles Taylor was an American agricultural economist. As an early pioneer in the field,he has been called the "father of agricultural economics" in the United States. Taylor established the first university department dedicated to agricultural economics in the United States in 1909 during his time at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He also had a brief but very influential career in the United States Department of Agriculture from 1919 to 1925,where he helped reorganize its offices and became head of the new Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Coming from a rural farm community himself,Taylor's foremost goal was always to try to improve the living conditions of farmers.
Catherine E. O'Connor Woteki was the under secretary for United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Research,Education,and Economics (REE) mission area,as well as the department's chief scientist. Her responsibilities included oversight of the four agencies that comprise REE,the Agricultural Research Service (ARS),National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA),Economic Research Service (ERS),and National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS.) The National Agriculture Library and National Arboretum also fall under this mission area. Since 2021,she has been a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).
Darci Vetter is an American government official and academic who served as Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
Basil Ivanhoe Gooden is an American governmental executive whose career has advanced equitable food systems,agriculture policy,public health,and community economic development in rural America. Gooden served as the 3rd Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry for the Commonwealth of Virginia in the cabinet of Governor Terry McAuliffe. He became the first Black American to serve in this position and during his tenure from September 2016 until January 2018,he was the only Black American Secretary of Agriculture in any state in the United States. In his capacity as Secretary,he provided strategic vision and leadership to two of Virginia's largest private industries,Agriculture and Forestry,with an annual economic impact of $91 billion on the Commonwealth.
Xochitl Liana Torres Small is an American attorney and politician who was the 15th United States deputy secretary of agriculture from 2023 to 2025,acting as "chief operating officer" for the department. She was nominated by President Joe Biden in February 2023,and was confirmed by the senate on July 11.
Elizabeth Marie Allen is an American political advisor who served as under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs in the Biden administration. She had previously served in his administration as assistant secretary of state for global public affairs. She was White House deputy communications director during the Obama administration. Allen resigned from the State Department on August 2,2024,to take up a role as chief of staff to Tim Walz,the then-unannounced running mate of Democratic presidential candidate and incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris.
Jennifer Lester Moffitt is an American organic farmer and government official from California who served as Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at the United States Department of Agriculture in the Biden administration;she was the first woman to hold this position. Moffitt previously served as the Undersecretary at the California Department of Food and Agriculture. She is currently a Senior Fellow at American Farmland Trust.
Lee Satterfield is an American diplomat who had served as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs in the Biden administration.
The Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs is a position within the United States Department of Agriculture. The position was mandated after the passing of the 2014 Farm Bill and officially created in 2017. Ted McKinney served as the first under secretary from 2017 to 2021. The current officeholder is Alexis Taylor,who was sworn in on December 29,2022.
Douglas J. McKalip is an American agricultural policy advisor who has served as chief agricultural negotiator in the Office of the United States Trade Representative since January 2023.
Kathleen Ann Kavalec is an American diplomat who has served as the United States ambassador to Romania since February 2023. She is a former nominee to be the United States ambassador to Albania under President Donald Trump.
United States Army