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USDA Announces New Leadership in Innovation Center and Water and Environmental Programs

Name
Lisa Sharp
Release Date

WASHINGTON, March 9, 2018 – Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett today announced three leadership changes at Rural Development.

Starting March 18, Claudette Fernandez will serve as Director of Strategic Innovation in the Rural Development Innovation Center. In this position, Fernandez will work directly with Rural Development’s program and state leadership to innovate agency programs and processes to be more effective, efficient and customer focused.

Fernandez has more than 15 years of experience in community economic development. At the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Fernandez most recently served as Assistant Administrator for Rural Development’s Water and Environmental Programs. Before that, Fernandez served as Deputy Administrator for Business Programs as well as Director of Community Economic Development. Prior to joining USDA, she served as Senior Program Manager at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Starting April 15, Edna Primrose will serve as Assistant Administrator for Rural Development’s Water and Environmental Programs. In this role, Primrose will lead a team of Rural Development staff located in every state to improve the quality of life in rural communities through water infrastructure.

Primrose has served as USDA Rural Development Chief Operating Officer since 2012. In addition to managing Rural Development operations, Primrose led the agency’s disaster relief and recovery effort during the 2017 hurricane and wildfire season. Prior to joining USDA, Primrose managed large-scale programs as the National Director for the Office of Job Corps at the U.S. Department of Labor. She oversaw the facility infrastructure of more than 100 Job Corps centers in communities nationwide.

Starting April 15, Moraima Rivera will serve as Acting Chief Operations Officer for Rural Development. Rivera has more than 26 years of experience working across USDA, most recently as Deputy Director for Financial Management at the National Financial and Accounting Operations Center (NFAOC). Rivera has also served as Acting Budget Director (2013) and Acting Chief Financial Officer (2014) for Rural Development.

Rural Development’s Water Programs Director Kent Evans will serve as Acting Assistant Administrator for Rural Development’s Water and Environmental Programs from March 18 to April 15.

USDA encourages partners and stakeholder groups to reach out to Fernandez, Primrose and Rivera in their new roles to build on existing partnerships and facilitate new relationships.