Two new officials will begin their roles at USDA on Monday and will bring a wide array of experience working in farm and natural resources policy with Latino and Native American individuals.
Gloria Montaño Greene will serve as deputy undersecretary for USDA's Farm Production and Conservation mission area and Zach Ducheneaux will serve as administrator of the department's Farm Service Agency.
USDA Chief of Staff Katharine Ferguson said both will make great additions to their team.
“With their leadership of USDA farm and conservation programs, we will create new market opportunities and streams of income for farmers, ranchers and producers that address climate change and environmental challenges,” Ferguson stated.
Ferguson said this also includes strengthening local and regional food systems, leading the world in food, fiber and feed production for export, and bolstering a commitment to equity across the department.
Montaño Greene is currently a deputy director for Chispa Arizona, a program of the League of Conservation Voters that “focuses on the empowerment of Latino voices in Arizona on issues including energy, public lands, and democracy access,” USDA noted in a release.
Gloria Montaño Greene
She also has experience serving with FSA on the state level. She served as a state executive director in Arizona from 2014-2017 during the Obama administration helping implement the 2014 farm bill.
But her experience also expands to Capitol Hill.
Montaño Greene served as deputy chief of staff and chief of staff to Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva of Arizona between Jan. 2005 – 2009.
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Ducheneaux, a South Dakota ranch owner, currently heads the Intertribal Agriculture Council as its executive director. He’s been with the organization since the 1990s and has served in various positions. The Council is the “largest, longest-standing Native American agriculture organization in the United States,” according to USDA. It represents all federally-recognized tribes and serves 80,000 Native American producers.
Zach Ducheneaux
Ducheneaux has worked most of his career to educate people about the role of improving food systems, value-added agriculture, and foreign exports to respond to the enduring economic and social challenges facing Native Americans and reservations.
He also serves on the board of Project H3LP. His family founded this nonprofit group that provides therapy through horsemanship.
He and his brothers operate a ranch on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in north central South Dakota.
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