The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development is pleased to announce that Mandie Cole has been selected as the new Business and Cooperative Programs Director in Oregon, following the promotion of former Program Director Rachel Reister to a position in Rural Development's national office.
Mandie has worked for Rural Development for almost 10 years. She has a diverse background gained from working in every program offered by Rural Development over her career. She began working for the agency as a Single Family Housing Technician. For the past seven years, she has served as a Business and Cooperative Programs Specialist.
She began her federal career with the USDA Farm Service Agency at the age of 19. This position gave Mandie experience in guaranteed and direct lending and helped her discovered a love for working both with numbers and rural communities.
Mandie has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business with an option in Accounting from Oregon State University. In her spare time, she enjoys the outdoors as much as possible with her husband and three kids.
You can reach Mandie at (541) 378-3538 or mandie.cole@usda.gov.
Rural Development's Business and Cooperative Programs help to stimulate business creation and growth in rural communities. Through these programs, USDA supports business start-up and expansion, job creation and retention, adoption of renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements, increased revenue for rural business ventures, and strengthened access to capital. Last year alone, Rural Development invested $40.3 million in loan guarantees and $1.5 million in grants in Oregon's rural businesses.