Roberto Salazar was named administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service.

From April 2001 until his appointment to this position Salazar served as the New Mexico State Director of the Rural Development mission area, based in Albuquerque. He was the Santa Fe-based director of science and technology for the state of New Mexico from 1998-2001, where he helped to create an economic environment in the state that was friendly to technology-based industry. He was also responsible for advancing the telecommunications infrastructure in New Mexico and served as the policy advisor in this subject area to New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson (R). During 1998 he served as executive director of the Hispanic Radio Network, [then] headquartered in Santa Fe, where he supervised the development, production, and international syndication of educational radio programs to over 160 stations in 18 countries.

From 1995-98 Salazar worked in the New Mexico Human Services Department, serving first as director of its Income Support Division and then as director of its Child Support Enforcement Division. In those positions he administered the Food Stamp, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) programs statewide. He was a special assistant to the director of the Minority Business Development Agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, DC from 1991-92. From 1989-91 he served as assistant commissioner of public lands for the state of New Mexico.

A native of Las Vegas, N.M., Salazar holds a B.A. degree in business administration, with a concentration in management and finance, from New Mexico Highlands University.

Samuel Chambers, the previous administrator of FNS, held that position from September 1998 until January 2001 and is now acting director of the state of Michigan’s Family Independence Agency (previously known as the state-level Department of Social Services) in Oakland County, Mich.