Additional USDA Appointments Announced

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack this week announced the appointment of Rayne Pegg as administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service. Pegg most recently served as the deputy secretary of legislation and policy for the California Department of Food and Agriculture. In this role, she was the principle advisor to both the secretary of the department and the cabinet of the governor of California on the department's legislative and policy issues.

President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Evan Segal as chief financial officer at USDA. Segal is the former president and owner of Dormont Manufacturing Company, a leading manufacturer of flexible stainless steel gas appliance connectors. In this position, he led the dramatic growth of the company, increasing sales from $5 million to $60 million while creating 250 new jobs.

Vilsack continued naming top staff by appointing Victor Vasquez to serve as deputy undersecretary for Rural Development at USDA. Vasquez has had more than two decades of experience in government and private sector in community and economic development at the local, state, federal and international levels.

Julie Paradis will serve as administrator for USDA's Food and Nutrition Service. Between August of 2001 and October of 2006, Paradis served as senior Washington counsel for America's Second Harvest (currently known as Feeding America), the nation's largest organization of emergency food providers, comprised of 215 regional food banks and food recovery organizations serving 50,000 local food pantries and soup kitchens.

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