Cheryl Cook, Rural Development Deputy Under Secretary

Cheryl Cook was appointed by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack as Deputy Under Secretary for USDA Rural Development on March 30, 2009. In this position, Cook manages program operations supporting Rural Development's three main areas of investment: Business, Cooperatives, and Energy; Housing and Community Facilities; and Utilities.

Cook served from May 1993 until March 2000 as Rural Development's Pennsylvania State Director. Between Federal appointments, Cook served as Deputy Secretary for Marketing and Economic Development at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, and Executive Director of the Keystone Cooperative Development Center. She was a member of the National Farmers Union's public policy staff, focusing on dairy, credit, and environmental issues. She also maintained a private law practice.

Cook received her bachelor's degree from Lebanon Valley College in Annville, PA, and a law degree from The Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, PA. (December 2011)

Doug O’Brien,

Doug O’Brien J.D., LL.M., was appointed Deputy Under Secretary for USDA Rural Development on August 1, 2011. Prior to his appointment, O’Brien served as a Senior Advisor to Secretary Tom Vilsack and Chief of Staff to Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan.

Before joining the United States Department of Agriculture, O’Brien served as the Assistant Director at the Ohio Department of Agriculture. In this capacity, he assisted the Director in administering the day-to-day operations of that department in such areas as plant industries, animal health, and its laboratories. In addition, he was responsible for developing the department’s biofuels, bioproducts and renewable energy policy efforts.

O’Brien has also served as Senior Advisor to Iowa Governor Chet Culver, Interim Co-Director for the National Agricultural Law Center in Fayetteville, Ark., and Senior Staff Attorney at the Drake Agricultural Law Center in Des Moines, Iowa.

He is former counsel for the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, where he worked on the 2002 Farm Bill, livestock marketing, concentration, agricultural credit, and cooperative issues.

He also served as Legislative Assistant for Representative Leonard Boswell, focusing primarily on Rep. Boswell’s work on the House Agriculture Committee, and as a Clerk for Justice Jerry Larson of the Iowa Supreme Court. O’Brien graduated from Loras College and earned a Juris Doctorate with honors from the University of Iowa. In addition, he holds a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Law from the University of Arkansas.

O’Brien, who was raised on a diversified farm in Iowa, has dedicated his career to agriculture and rural policy.(August 2011)