President Joe Biden yesterday announced his intent to appoint eight U.S. Department of Agriculture regional positions, including five Farm Service Agency state executive directors and three Rural Development state directors.
Among those is Thomas Carew, who Biden selected to be the Rural Development state director in Kentucky.
“Here at USDA, we continue to add experience and talented individuals to our state offices,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “I have full confidence in the work these new State Directors and State Executive Directors will accomplish to advance USDA’s mission in their local communities.”
Before joining USDA, Carew served as the executive vice president of membership and advocacy for Fahe in central Appalachia. While at Fahe, he was the principal author of the 502 Direct Packaging Demonstration with USDA. Through his leadership, Fahe’s membership grew from 44 to more than 55 affordable housing nonprofits, and he helped lead the expansion of Fahe housing programs into Alabama and Maryland. Carew was the founding executive director of Frontier Housing, a non-profit, affordable-housing developer based in Morehead, Kentucky. He is also the recipient of the Dorothy Williams Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kentucky Housing Corporation – the highest award given in the commonwealth for non-profit housing producers. In 2010, Carew received the Cochran Collings award from the Housing Assistance Council for service to Rural America.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety, and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, Tribal and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.
