The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development is pleased to announce Jim Park has been selected to serve as the Acting State Director in Nevada.
Park is filling the position after the departure of Philip Cowee. As an appointed official in the Trump Administration, Cowee resigned on January 20, 2021.
As Acting State Director, Park oversees the delivery in Nevada of more than 50 programs administered by the Rural Housing Service, Rural Business and Cooperative Service, and Rural Utilities Service. Under the umbrella of USDA Rural Development, these programs provide financial and technical assistance to support infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety, and health care facilities; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. Last year alone, these programs invested $151 million in rural Nevada communities.
To learn more about how these programs can assist your rural community, contact a staff member from this contact list on the agency website.
Prior to this appointment Park served as the Associate Enterprise Director for USDA Rural Development in Nevada, providing a wide variety of mission and administrative operations support for all Nevada offices, staff, and leadership.
A rural Nevada resident with more than three decades of service at both the local and federal government levels, Park has provided leadership and a “can do” attitude in helping grow rural Nevada. As a decade long Town Manager in Nevada, he worked with local governments, USDA Rural Development, and community leaders during the Great Recession to successfully stand up Nevada’s only “Main Street USA” program- now the longest running Main Street program in Nevada.
Park holds a Master of Business Administration degree, is a Nevada Certified Public Official, a Certified Professional Contracts Manager, and a Lifetime Certified Purchasing Manager. He and his wife Pam have called rural Carson Valley home since 2000.
More information about USDA Rural Development Nevada available online at https://www.rd.usda.gov/nv