USDA Announces Senior Staff Appointments

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the names of individuals who will hold senior staff positions in Washington, D.C.

Kumar Chandran has been designated acting under secretary for food, nutrition and consumer services (FNCS). Chandran has worked on the Biden-Harris administration’s health and nutrition initiatives since day one, serving first on the Biden-Harris transition as part of the USDA Agency Review team and then as a senior advisor for nutrition policy in the office of the secretary since the start of the administration. Chandran has extensive experience in nutrition advocacy and public service, including most recently leading the policy work of the national nonprofit FoodCorps. He was also chief of staff to the under secretary for food, nutrition and consumer services during the Obama administration, and he has worked to fight hunger and improve nutrition through roles at Share Our Strength and California Food Policy Advocates (now Nourish California).

By taking on this leadership role, Chandran aims to apply his experience from multiple organizations to help carry forward the Biden-Harris administration’s vision for reducing hunger, improving nutrition and giving all Americans, regardless of zip code or socio-economic status, the best chance at a good life.

As acting under secretary, Chandran will serve with Stacy Dean, deputy under secretary for FNCS. President Joe Biden twice nominated Dean as under secretary for food, nutrition and consumer sciences, and the Senate twice returned her nomination. She has served as deputy under secretary for FNCS since January 2021, and her leadership, vision and wisdom remain essential to securing transformational improvements to USDA’s food and nutrition programs, USDA said.

Alberto A. Gonzalez Jr. was named senior policy advisor, food and nutrition science. He most recently served as senior advisor focused on external engagement within the agency. Previously, he worked as a senior project manager for health policy at UnidosUS, where he worked on health and nutrition policy related to federal government programs. Prior to joining UnidosUS in 2018, he was a senior state advocacy manager at Community Catalyst in Boston. At UnidosUS, he led the Health Equity and Accountability Act Working Group, and while at Community Catalyst he served on the steering committee for the Protecting Immigrant Families Campaign.

Gonzalez has also held roles at the California Immigrant Policy Center and the California State Assembly. He has a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a bachelor’s degree in political science and American studies from the University of California, Berkeley.