30th & 32nd United States Secretary of Agriculture

Thomas J. Vilsack was confirmed as the 32^nd United States Secretary of Agriculture on Feb. 23, 2021 by the U.S. Senate. He was nominated by President Joe Biden to return to a role where he served for eight years under President Barack Obama.

Under Secretary Vilsack’s leadership, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is building back better by restoring the American economy, strengthening rural and historically underserved communities, responding to threats of climate change, creating good-paying jobs for American workers and the next generation of agricultural leaders, and investing in our kids and our families.

Vilsack was the longest-serving member of President Obama’s original Cabinet. Prior to his appointment, he served two terms as the Governor of Iowa, served in the Iowa State Senate and as the mayor of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. He received his bachelor's degree from Hamilton College and his law degree from Albany Law School in New York.

Prior to returning to USDA, he served as president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) from 2017 until February 2021. There, he provided strategic leadership and oversight of USDEC's global promotional and research activities, regulatory affairs and trade policy initiatives. In addition to his post at USDEC, he also served as a Strategic Advisor to Colorado State University’s food and water initiatives.

Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the White House National Economic Council

Sameera Fazili is the Deputy Director of the National Economic Council in the Biden administration. Before joining NEC, she served as the director of engagement for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s community and economic development department. Fazili previously served as a senior policy advisor at NEC in the Obama administration, where she covered retirement, consumer finance, and community and economic development. Fazili has also worked at the Treasury Department on issues related to community development financial institutions, housing finance and small business finance. She was also a senior adviser and chief of staff to the Treasury’s Under Secretary for International Affairs.

She was a clinical lecturer of law at Yale Law School and economic development clinic, where she helped start a CDFI bank and a local anti-foreclosure initiative and expanded the clinic’s work to international microfinance. Fazili is a graduate of Yale Law School and Harvard College where she received a Bachelor of Arts in social studies. Originally from Buffalo, she now lives in Georgia with her husband and three children.

Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service

Prior to joining USDA Rural Development, Karama Neal served as president of Southern Bancorp Community Partners, a nonprofit community development loan fund and financial development organization promoting economic mobility in rural Arkansas and Mississippi. She spent twelve years at Southern and led their small business, consumer and other development lending, consumer and savings focused public policy work, and a variety of financial development services to help low and moderate wealth families and communities build wealth.

In 2013, Dr. Neal started a statewide grassroots organization promoting passage of the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act in Arkansas which was passed in 2015. This work was inspired by her family’s ownership of rural heirs property in the state. Before joining Southern, she had a career in the biosciences and worked for a period in biofuels informatics with a focus on feedstocks and balancing food and fuel priorities. For six years, Dr. Neal served on the board of the Little Rock Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

After completing her undergraduate degree in biology at Swarthmore College, Dr. Neal later earned a doctorate in genetics from Emory University and a master’s in bioethics and health policy from Loyola University Chicago. She also completed executive education in impact investing at the University of Oxford Said School of Business.

Vice-President and Lead Relationship Manager, Corporate Agribusiness Banking Group

Jim Matzat is a lead relationship manager for CoBank’s Corporate Agribusiness Banking Group focused on the US Animal Protein Industry. In this role, he manages a multi-billion $ portfolio and provides financial services for large agribusiness customers ranging from multi-animal protein companies to individual pork, beef, poultry & dairy companies located throughout the United States.

Prior to joining CoBank in 2005, Mr. Matzat served for nine years as president of Capstone Marketing, an agribusiness consulting firm serving the dairy and cattle-feeding industries. He also worked for 11 years in the agribusiness divisions of several banks, including serving as a vice president at both First Interstate Bank of Denver and FirsTier Bank in Omaha.

Mr. Matzat earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from Purdue University and a master’s degree in agricultural and resource economics from Oregon State University.

Commercial Lending Sector Leader - Food Systems Financing, Self-Help Credit Union

Philip E. Otienoburu is Director of Food Systems Financing at Self-Help Credit Union & Ventures Fund where he leads a national strategy for financing sustainable and equitable food systems through investments in low-wealth and disinvested communities. Prior to joining the organization, he was tenured Associate Professor of Biology and Sustainability at Johnson C. Smith University and founding Director of the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainability. Dr. Otienoburu obtained his PhD from The Ohio State University and his MBA from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

President & Chief Lending Officer, Stone Bank

Nick Roach of Little Rock, Arkansas has been with Stone Bank since August 2010 and serves as a Director and President & Chief Lending Officer. Prior to joining the Bank, Mr. Roach had over 10 years of banking experience including customer service, credit analysis, and lending. Mr. Roach holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Arkansas Tech University in Economics and Finance. Mr. Roach graduated in 2017 from the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. During his tenure with Stone Bank Mr. Roach has developed the bank into a significant player in the government-guaranteed loan sector, having led the bank to a Top 100 SBA Lender and Top 5 USDA lender status. The bank is also consistently ranked as one of the leading FSA agri-lenders in the State of Arkansas.

Head of Energy and Infrastructure Lending, Live Oak Bank

Jamie Bourgeois is the head of Live Oak Bank’s energy & infrastructure team lending team providing capital to the green economy and rural America . She has more than fifteen years’ experience in the financial services industry, including business development, commercial lending and risk management. Most recently, Jamie was the Head of Construction Credit Administration at Live Oak Bank. . Prior to joining Live Oak, Jamie was a Director at Fairview Real Estate Solutions where she focused on underwriting, investment and valuation in the commercial real estate group. Earlier in her career, she was a lead analyst in the CMBS Structured Finance Group at Moody’s Investor Services where she was focused on the rating of new CMBS Issuances. Jamie also held various roles at BB&T. She graduated from BB&T’s Management Program and spent most of her time focused on the development and co-approval of new commercial balance sheet loans. Jamie received her B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and Management from Appalachian State University and her M.B.A. from Wake Forest University.

Founder and Principal, Armonia Capital

Larry Lunt is the founder and principal of Armonia, a multi-generational family office focused on triple-bottom-line investing. Since 2007, Armonia’s mission has been to leverage diverse forms of investment, philanthropic, and human capital to promote regenerative agriculture in the U.S. Under Lunt’s leadership, Armonia has become a certified B Corporation, a founding steward of B Lab, a GIIN founding member, and a founding member of FORA (Funders for Regenerative Agriculture). Lunt co-founded Grasslands, a regenerative ranchland management company, and has led investments in various private enterprises working to promote regional food systems and grassfed animal agriculture, including Carman Ranch Provisions, Maple Hill Creamery, Walden Local Meat, Row7 Seed Company, and Teton Waters Ranch. In addition, Lunt has served on the boards of the Savory Institute and the Rainforest Alliance. He is Vice Chair of the board of the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, a board member of the Synergos Institute, and a member of NRDC’s Global Leadership Circle. Beyond his non profit board service, Lunt serves on the board of directors of Gaia Herbs. He holds an economics degree from Louvain University, Belgium, and an MBA from Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan.