WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development announced several leadership appointments, including a new Agency Chief of Staff, Rural Business-Cooperative Service Administrator, Senior Advisor for Communications and External Engagement, and Senior Advisor.
Sarah Dietch has been appointed Rural Development Chief of Staff. Sarah comes to USDA from the United States Peace Corps, where she served as Director of Peace Corps Response. In this role, she led efforts to reimagine Peace Corps service, developing policy, implementing programming, and securing resources to provide short-term, high-impact service opportunities for Americans to serve as Peace Corps Response Volunteers and Virtual Service Pilot Participants. During her tenure, Sarah also led the second-ever domestic deployment of Peace Corps Volunteers to support Community Vaccination Centers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before that, Dietch was a Peace Corps Individual and Organizational Development Volunteer in Telavi, Georgia, where she developed the Kakheti Media Center’s strategic vision for civic engagement activities. Dietch has also held senior roles at USDA’s Rural Development, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Office of Legislative Affairs, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Legislative Affairs. She has a Bachelor of Arts from Simpson College and a master’s in public administration from Harvard University.
Betsy Dirksen Londrigan has been appointed as Rural Business-Cooperative Service Administrator. Betsy served as USDA’s Rural Development State Director for Illinois since January 2022. She will take on this new role in mid-January upon the departure of Dr. Karama Neal, who is returning to Arkansas from USDA. Dirksen Londrigan has over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, working with community, regional, and state leaders to effect positive change. Dirksen Londrigan leads the Illinois Basin Rapid Response Team for the Interagency Working Group (IWG) for Energy Communities. She is a lifelong resident of Springfield, Illinois, and is proud that her family members still own and operate the Centennial farm in Central Illinois, where her grandmother was raised. Dirksen Londrigan graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and is a former Director at the University of Illinois Springfield.
Jimmy Dahman has been promoted to a new role as Senior Advisor for Communications and External Engagement in Rural Development’s Under Secretary’s Office. Jimmy has been serving as Acting Rural Development Chief of Staff since August and, before this role, served as Rural Business-Cooperative Service Chief of Staff. Before that, Jimmy served as a Special Assistant in Rural Development’s Under Secretary’s Office.
Bill Menner has been appointed Senior Advisor, working primarily with Rural Development’s State Operations Office. Bill served as Iowa’s Rural Development State Director from 2009 through 2017. Since then, his career has focused on Rural Development priorities, including renewable energy, community development, and housing. Bill has been serving as the board president of Partners for Rural America, the national umbrella group for state rural development councils.
