Judy Canales, Rural Development Acting Deputy Under Secretary

On April 30, 2012, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the appointment of Judith Canales as Acting Deputy Under Secretary for USDA Rural Development.

Most recently, Canales served Administrator for the Rural Business-Cooperative Service at USDA Rural Development.  Before that, she served as the Executive Director of the Maverick County Development Corporation in Eagle Pass, Texas, and for the past seven years as an adjunct faculty member for Southwest Texas Junior College.

In 1996, Former President Bill Clinton appointed Canales as Deputy State Director for Texas Rural Development. She worked as the Acting Associate Administrator for Rural Business and Cooperative Service in Washington, D.C. She served as the Legislative Representative for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. She also served as the Executive Director of the International Hispanic Network, a national membership organization of Hispanic city managers, which promotes professional excellence among Hispanic executives and public managers in local government. She served as the Assistant City Manager for the City of Eagle Pass.

Canales received a Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government. She received a Master of Arts degree in Urban Studies from Trinity University in San Antonio, a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin and an Associate of Arts degree from Southwest Texas Junior College. Canales is a native of Uvalde, Texas, and most recently lived in Eagle Pass, Texas. (May 18, 2012)