The Department of Agriculture has announced the appointments of three individuals to senior staff positions.
Shavana Howard, who will be a senior adviser for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, comes to USDA from the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, where she has been assistant secretary of family support since 2020.
A Navy veteran, Howard began her career with the state of Washington’s Catholic Community Services before moving to the Commission on African American Affairs. She later joined Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services, where she helped manage the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Rebecca Kaufman will be a senior adviser in Rural Development's Office of External Affairs. She had been working as a senior director at AgLaunch, an ag innovation company where she supported strategic planning and partnership development. Before that, she was the director of policy and research at Delta Regional Authority, where she focused on policy and research for economic development in the Delta region.
Wesley Swanzy is the new chief of staff to the chief financial officer. Swanzy previously worked as a business risk manager for UBS Financial Services.
A major in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, Swanzy has served as an Air Force finance officer, where he managed appropriation accounts at Headquarters Air Force, Major Command.
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