Kathleen Merrigan (USA), named one of Time Magazine’s “Most Influential People in the World” in 2010, Dr. Merrigan brings to the university a diverse range of experience spanning nearly 30 years.
In 2009, she was nominated to serve as US Department of Agriculture deputy secretary by President Obama and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. During her four-year tenure at the USDA, she oversaw the daily operations of agency, leading the USDA’s budget process, establishing the agency’s priorities and monitoring progress, and driving its rulemaking process. Her accomplishments include creating and leading the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative to support local food systems; serving as a key architect of First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign; and representing the United States before the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development.
Before joining the USDA, Dr. Merrigan served for nearly a decade as a faculty member and director of the Agriculture, Food and Environment Program at Tufts University. She has also held positions as a senior analyst for the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture and a staff member for the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry, where she wrote the law establishing national standards for organic food.
Dr. Merrigan earned a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin, and a B.A. from Williams College.