Greetings,

I am pleased to share with you that this morning I was officially sworn in to serve as the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture at USDA by Secretary Tom Vilsack. I am grateful to President Biden and Vice President Harris for nominating me to serve in their administration, and I thank the U.S. Senate for voting to confirm me.

I know from experience how your work touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. From nutrition to food safety, from agricultural science to caring for the health of our forests and grasslands, the work you do is vital, and I am grateful to join your ranks.

My parents taught me humility, and they encouraged me to treat others with dignity. I went into education because of my parents, but I focused on agriculture because I wanted to inspire young people to build better communities through food and nutrition. I am proud of my career in Cooperative Extension, where I was first inspired by young people in 4-H, getting to know the families and communities across Virginia who produced our food, feed, fiber and fuel. This led to the honor of serving as dean of the College of Agriculture at Virginia State University, one of our nation’s historically Black colleges. In 2015, Secretary Vilsack appointed me to serve as Virginia State Executive Director for the Farm Service Agency, where I led the implementation of Farm Bill programs and personally visited the 41 field offices within my first year of service to learn more about how programs affected farmers, ranchers and forestland owners. Soon thereafter, I received the appointment as the 16th Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Throughout all these opportunities, it has been personal interactions with farmers, ranchers and forestland owners that I have found deeply rewarding as I have gotten to know them. I have learned their struggles and joys. What I took away from each experience is the importance not only of listening—but hearing what people are saying beneath the emotion. What motivates and inspires me is that with all the challenges our farmers, ranchers and forestland owners face today, I have never met one who is not eternally optimistic. I share their optimism.

It is an honor to be the first Black woman and woman of color to serve as deputy secretary. I fully understand the historic nature of this confirmation, along with the responsibilities of my service in this role. I share the secretary’s commitment to take bold action to address discrimination in all its forms across USDA agencies, offices and programs. In 1862, Abraham Lincoln established USDA. In 1864, he called USDA “The People’s Department.” I believe it should be just that, the department for all people.

You have my commitment that I will be a champion for all customers and stakeholders who rely on USDA each day. Equally important, I am committed to working with you to make USDA the best place to work for all people. I look forward to getting to work alongside you to make USDA the best it can be.

Thank You,

Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh