USDA Announces Monica Rainge as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights

The Department of Agriculture Tuesday announced Monica Armster Rainge as deputy assistant secretary for civil rights for the agency. 

Rainge is an agricultural lawyer and mediator. She has worked in the public and private agricultural sectors for more than 25 years. 

She recently served as the Director of Land Retention and Advocacy for the Federation of Southern Cooperatives-Land Assistance Fund. 

There, she led the development and management of outreach and technical assistance programs that support regional land retention and advocacy initiatives for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. 

Rainge also directed the Federation’s Regional Heirs Property and Mediation Center, which provides USDA-certified mediation services in Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana. 

Katharine Ferguson, chief of staff in the office of the secretary, stated, “She has dedicated her career in law and advocacy to fighting for underserved and marginalized communities in food, agriculture and natural resources management.” 

Rainge will help USDA efforts to ensure equity across the Department.

(Story Courtesy of the NAFB News Service)