This profile contains Biden Administration nominations and appointments made at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Nominations and Appointments

Olugbenga Ajilore is a Senior Advisor in the Office of the Under Secretary for Rural Development. He was previously a senior economist at the Center for American Progress, and also served as president of the National Economic Association. Before that, he was an associate professor of economics at the University of Toledo.¹

Jewel H. Bronaugh is Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. She formerly served as Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services since 2018. Before that, she was Executive Director of the Center of Agricultural Research, Engagement and Outreach at Virginia State University, Virginia State Executive Director for the USDA Farm Service Agency, and Dean of the College of Agriculture at Virginia State University.²

Janie Simms Hipp is General Counsel at the Department of Agriculture. She was most recently Chief Executive Officer of the Native American Agriculture Fund, and before that was the founding director of the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative at the University of Arkansas. She also formerly served as a national program leader at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and as director of the Office of Tribal Relations.³

Tom Vilsack is Secretary of Agriculture. He formerly served as Secretary of Agriculture during the Obama Administration, and was the 40th Governor of Iowa.⁴ He has served as President and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council,⁵ and on the Board of Directors of Feeding America.⁶

1. “U.S. Department of Agriculture Announces Key Staff Appointments.” U.S. Department of Agriculture. January 21, 2021. Available at: https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2021/01/21/us-department-agriculture-announces-key-staff-appointments
2. “Dr. Jewel H. Bronaugh, VDACS Commissioner.” Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Accessed May 14, 2021. Available at: https://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/about-commissioners-office.shtml
3. “Janie Simms Hipp.” Native American Agriculture Fund. Accessed August 4, 2021. Available at: https://nativeamericanagriculturefund.org/janie-simms-hipp/
4. “Domestic Nominees and Appointees: Secretary Tom Vilsack.” Biden-Harris Transition. Accessed December 11, 2020. Available at: https://buildbackbetter.gov/nominees-and-appointees/tom-vilsack/
5. “Our Staff.” U.S. Dairy Export Council. Accessed December 11, 2020. Available at: https://www.usdec.org/about-us/our-staff
6. “Secretary Tom Vilsack.” Feeding America. Accessed December 11, 2020. Available at: https://www.feedingamerica.org/about-us/leadership/Secretary-Tom-Vilsack