U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on Monday announced two key USDA appointments. Carmen Rottenberg was selected as the Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety and Paul Kiecker has been named Acting Administrator for the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Both appointments are effective August 1. Ensuring the safety of our nation’s food supply is our most important responsibility, and it’s one we undertake with great seriousness. Both Carmen and Paul have dedicted their careers to the mission of food safety and I am pleased to have appointed them to these important roles within the USDA,” said Secretary Perdue. “I commend the work of the entire USDA’s food safety team for painstakingly safeguarding the food we serve our families every single day.”
As Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety, Carmen Rottenberg will oversee development, implementation, and enforcement of all of FSIS regulations, policies, and programs. This appointment follows nearly six years in leadership roles in the FSIS Office of the Administrator, including serving as Chief of Staff, Chief Operating Officer, and, most recently, Deputy Administrator.
Rottenberg joined FSIS as an Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist in 2007, and went on to become the Deputy Director of the Civil Rights staff. She began her federal government career in the Federal Trade Commission’s Office of General Counsel, and previously worked as a law clerk. She holds a B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy from Hope College in Holland, Michigan, and a law degree from American University Washington College of Law.
Paul Kiecker joined FSIS in 1988 as a food inspector. Since then, he has served in a number of roles at the agency. Most recently, he served as Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Field Operations. He came to Washington, D.C. to serve as Executive Associate for Regulatory Operations, after serving as the district manager in Springdale, Arkansas, and Madison, Wisconsin, as well as Deputy District manager in Madison. Kiecker’s experience with FSIS also includes work with the Office of Investigation, Enforcement, and Audit (OIEA), where he served as a Compliance Investigator and as a Supervisory Compliance Officer.
In his various positions with FSIS, Kiecker has played a critical role in leading external coordination with other federal agencies, state and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, international organizations, and law enforcement agencies. He has also had oversight responsibility for strategic planning, policy formulation and implementation, budget development and execution, human resource management, and day-to-day inspection operations.
