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USDA tells employees of political personnel changes

The Agriculture Department Office of the White House Liaison on Friday sent USDA political appointees a memo informing them of a number of changes of personnel.

The Hagstrom Report obtained a copy of the memo.

Agriculture Deputy Undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services Karis Gutter has announced that he will leave USDA on August 21.

Gutter, a former Marine who has also been in charge of the USDA program to help veterans making the transition to farming, did not announce future plans, but said he is “excited about the next chapter in my career.”

A spokesman for Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack praised Gutter’s service and said no successor has been selected.

“As with any vacancy, we will begin to look at internal and external candidates and work to ensure a smooth transition,” the spokesman said.

Vernita Dore has been appointed Rural Development deputy undersecretary for operations, effective August 24.

Dore joined the administration in 2009 as the South Carolina state director for rural development and has been the acting deputy undersecretary for rural development since May.

She began her career with the Army as a management analyst. In 1987, she became a career employee with USDA Rural Development, where she was later promoted to the position of area director.

A native of Beaufort, S.C., Dore earned a bachelor of arts in journalism from the University of South Carolina. She has attended professional development programs at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business, the Federal Executive Institute, and the USDA Graduate School, and is a graduate of the Diversity Leadership Institute at Furman University.

Lillian Salerno has been appointed Rural Development undersecretary for policy, effective August 24.

Most recently, Salerno has served as the administrator of the Rural Business-Cooperative Service.

Before joining USDA, Salerno founded a manufacturing company that started with a Small Business Innovation Grant. Earlier she served as the executive director for the Safe Healthcare International Institute, which encouraged solutions for the protection of healthcare workers and delivery systems while building coalitions to promote long-term HIV/AIDS prevention internationally.

Salerno grew up in rural Texas and earned a bachelor of arts in Latin American studies at the University of Texas, a master's degree in sociology from the University of North Texas, and a law degree from Southern Methodist University.

Mike Schmidt has been appointed associate administrator of the Farm Service Agency, effective August 24.

Schmidt has served as the deputy administrator for farm programs at FSA since 2013.

Before joining FSA, Schmidt served as acting chief of staff and senior adviser in the marketing and regulatory programs mission area. He also spent a year as acting chief of staff for the USDA Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA).

Before coming to USDA, Schmidt worked seven years on Capitol Hill, including as legislative assistant and senior legislative assistant for Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., advising on agriculture, telecommunications, transportation and science issues.

He received his undergraduate degrees in environmental science and biology from Virginia Tech and a master’s of science degree in public understanding of environmental change from the University College London.

Lesly Weber McNitt has been appointed chief of staff at the Farm Service Agency.

McNitt most recently served as director of government relations and program development for the Farm Journal Foundation.

Previously, she was a legislative associate with Oldaker Belair & Wittie, LLP, where she managed a diverse portfolio of issues including financial services, federal appropriations, Native American affairs, and education.

She graduated from The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs with a bachelor of arts in international affairs and earned a master’s degree in legislative affairs from GWU’s Graduate School of Political Management.

Charles Makings has been appointed a legislative analyst in the USDA Office of Congressional Relations.

Makings began his career in the office of Rep. Donald M. Payne Sr., D-N.J., where he served as a legislative assistant responsible for the energy, agriculture, environment and technology policy areas.

After Payne died, Makings continued working for his son, Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J., as a senior legislative assistant.

Born in Washington, D.C., Makings received a bachelor arts in public administration from George Mason University and a master of business administration from the University of Maryland.

Melinda Cep has been appointed a senior adviser in the office of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Cep most recently served as the deputy assistant secretary of congressional relations. She joined USDA in 2013 as senior adviser to Ed Avalos, undersecretary of marketing and regulatory programs, and then worked for Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden.

She previously served as the appropriations and policy adviser for Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.

A native of Maryland, she earned a doctor of veterinary medicine degree from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine.