Acting Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Joel Baxley today announced the appointment of Bruce W. Lammers as the Administrator of Rural Development’s Rural Housing Service.
“Public-private partnerships are essential to increasing access to capital and building prosperity in rural America,” Baxley said. “Lammers has been a long-time leader in government-guaranteed lending, and this important perspective will help USDA Rural Development be a stronger, more innovative partner with private, community-focused lending institutions across the country.”
Lammers comes to USDA with more than 35 years of experience leading public-private partnerships at national community-oriented lending institutions. Since 2016, he has served as president of a specialized government-guaranteed lending division of Byline Bank. Prior to this, Lammers was chairman and CEO of Ridgestone Bank, a national leader in government-guaranteed lending before being acquired by Byline Bank in 2016. Lammers has served as a board member of many community organizations, including the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders (NAGGL). Lammers looks forward to enhancing his focus on economic development in small towns across America in his new role.
This leadership change is effective May 28, 2019. USDA Rural Development encourages partners and stakeholder groups to reach out to Lammers in his new role to build on existing partnerships and facilitate new relationships.
In April 2017, President Donald J. Trump established the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to identify legislative, regulatory and policy changes that could promote agriculture and prosperity in rural communities. In January 2018, Secretary Perdue presented the Task Force’s findings to President Trump. These findings included 31 recommendations to align the federal government with state, local and tribal governments to take advantage of opportunities that exist in rural America.
To view the report in its entirety, please view the Report to the President of the United States from the Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity (PDF, 5.4 MB). In addition, to view the categories of the recommendations, please view the Rural Prosperity infographic (PDF, 190 KB).
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.