Sandra Eskin has been named the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety.
The selection of Eskin for that position was one of several key staff appointments announced by the USDA on March 16.
Eskin comes to the USDA from the Pew Charitable Trusts, where she served as the project director for food safety. Before that, she was a public policy consultant to consumer and public interest organizations, providing strategic and policy advice on a range of consumer protection issues, including food safety, dietary supplement safety and food and drug labeling and advertising.
She also held the roles of Federal Government Staff Attorney and Legislative Representative for the Consumer Federation of America and served as Deputy Director of the Produce Safety Project, a Pew initiative at Georgetown University. She has served on numerous federal advisory committees and received her bachelor’s degree from Brown University and her juris doctor from the University of California Hastings College of the Law.
“Sandra’s deep experience in food safety will strengthen USDA’s dedication to ensuring a safe, secure food supply for consumers and help to protect the safety of federal meat inspectors and workers throughout the food chain,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a press release.
Other key USDA appointments include:
Eyang Garrison was named chief of staff in the office of the deputy secretary. Garrison previously served as the deputy chief of staff and legislative director to Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio.
Jeremy Adamson was named policy advisor for trade and foreign agricultural affairs in the Foreign Agricultural Service. He previously was portfolio manager for Certis USA.
Edyael Casperalta was named senior policy advisor for the Rural Utilities Services agency.
“We are honored to have professionals of the caliber of Eyang, Jeremy and Edyael join our team,” said Vilsack. “Their talents will help us build back a stronger, more nimble and more equitable USDA that serves all Americans.”
