Administrator of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service Anne Alonzo has left her position. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has named Elanor Starmer, one of his senior advisers, as the acting administrator. Starmer is expected to be formally named to the position at some point, according to The Hagstrom Report.
Starmer joined USDA to work for then Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan in 2011. She has acted as liaison to the Food and Drug Administration on the Food Safety Modernizations Act (FSMA) and developed department-wide strategies to support industry of FSMA implementation. She also has handled a variety of other issues, including specialty crops and value-added agriculture as well as focusing on creating new marketing opportunities for farmers, ranchers, and food businesses.
