Lillian Salerno
Salerno in 2014
Deputy Undersecretary for Rural Development, United States Department of Agriculture
In office
2015–2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byDoug O'Brien
Succeeded byVernita Dore
Personal details
Born1961 (age 62–63)
Alma materUniversity of Texas (BA)
University of North Texas (MA)
Southern Methodist University (JD)

Lillian Salerno (born 1961) is an American attorney and entrepreneur who serves as USDA Rural Development State Director in Texas from 2022. She served as the Deputy Under Secretary of Rural Development of the United States Department of Agriculture[1][2] from 2015 to 2017.[3] She is the Principal of Armadilla Strategies and previously served as the Executive Director and Senior Policy Advisor at Safe Healthcare International Institute, as Executive Director of the International Association of Safe Injection Technologies, and as Principal and Chief Operating Officer of Retractable Technologies, Inc.[4]

Early life and education

Salerno was born at the Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, one of nine children in her family, and raised in the farming community of Little Elm, Texas.[5] She attended Little Elm High School and was both student council president and head cheerleader. Her graduating class had eighteen people in it.[6]

Salerno attended the University of Texas on a Pell grant for undergraduate studies, the University of North Texas for graduate school, and then Southern Methodist University for law school.[7][6]

Career

Salerno has held positions in government, non-governmental advocacy organizations, as well as the private sector.

2015–2017

In 2015, the White House appointed Salerno to serve as an administrator in the Department of Agriculture.[8]

2017–2022

In March 2017, Salerno was under consideration to become a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission.[9][10][11]

A member of the Democratic Party, Salerno ran for United States House of Representatives from Texas's 32nd congressional district in 2018, but lost the Democratic primary to Colin Allred.[12][7][13]

Salerno started a podcast, Pod Bless Texas, in 2018.[14]

Salerno's tenure with the USDA, specifically how her department ran what was essentially a bank with $220 billion in assets inside the USDA, was profiled in The Fifth Risk, Michael Lewis's 2018 book about the transition and political appointments of the Donald Trump presidency.[6][15]

2022-present

On June 23, 2022, the White House announced that Salerno has been appointed as Texas state director for the USDA's Rural Development.[16]

References

  1. ↑ Larson, Jordan; Stieb, Matt (10 January 2018). "What's at Play in the 2018 House of Representatives Races". New York Magazine. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  2. ↑ "USDA Expands Public-Private Partnerships to Create Economic Opportunities through Regional Food Supply Chains".
  3. ↑ Ross, Robyn (21 February 2017). "A Fork in the Road". Texas Observer. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  4. ↑ "Lillian Salerno's Biography".
  5. ↑ Jeffers, Gromer Jr. (12 September 2017). "Obama appointee Lillian Salerno joins race for congressional seat held by Pete Sessions". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 Lewis, Michael (2019). The Fifth Risk. New York and London: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393357455.
  7. 1 2 Livingston, Abby (15 May 2018). "Democrats have their eye on Pete Sessions' seat. Who will they pick to challenge him?". Texas Tribune. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  8. ↑ "The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy". The Independent Review. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  9. ↑ Bartz, Diane (13 March 2017). "Small business expert under consideration for FTC commissioner". Reuters. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  10. ↑ Salerno, Lillian (20 April 2017). "Want to rescue rural America? Bust monopolies". Washington Post. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  11. ↑ McCabe, David (14 March 2017). "Ex-USDA official said to be up for trade commission". Axios. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  12. ↑ Rocha, Alana (15 April 2018). "Meet The Democrats Vying To Unseat U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions In The Fall". Houston Public Media. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  13. ↑ Hagan, Lisa (23 May 2018). "Primary victories fuel new 'Year of the Woman' for Dems". The Hill. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  14. ↑ Wise, Kathy (1 March 2019). "Lillian Salerno Has Turned Her Political Loss Into a Podcast Mission". D Magazine. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  15. ↑ Kaiser-Schatzlein, Robin (5 December 2018). "How to Manage the Future". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  16. ↑ "President Biden Announces Key Regional Appointments for USDA". The White House. Retrieved 23 June 2022.


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