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Dr. Cindy Nickerson joined OCE as the Deputy Chief Economist in June 2020. 

Nathaniel ‘Alex’ Córdova is the Deputy Director of the USDA Center for Faith, where he leads outreach and technical assistance initiatives focused on increasing the capacity of faith and community-based organizations.Alex joined USDA in 2016 as a Presidential Management Fellow with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. He has also served as a Strategic Engagement Specialist with the USDA Rural Development Innovation Center, and as a Business Development Specialist with the Agricultural Marketing Service.

Alongside Secretary Brooke L. Rollins, Deputy Secretary Vaden leads the Department’s operations and implements policies that support America’s food and farm systems. A native of Union City, Tennessee, Deputy Secretary Vaden brings expertise in agricultural policy, law, and rural development. Previously, he served as a judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade and as General Counsel of USDA. Throughout Deputy Secretary Vaden’s time as General Counsel, he led successful Supreme Court litigation, advanced regulatory reform, and supported the implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill.

She has responsibility for the National Finance Center (NFC) which is a Center of Excellence and a Human Resources Center of Excellence for the Federal Government. Ms. Moaney serves as the comptroller for the USDA Working Capital Fund (WCF) and Shared Cost programs (SCPs) which includes formulating the $1B WCF budget and $33M SCP budget annually.

As part of the Enterprise Data Management Center (EDMC), Tim leads the Enterprise Geospatial Management Office (EGMO) and coordinates geospatial data activities across the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) Mission Areas and Agencies.

She also supports the Chief Scientist in building partnerships within the scientific community and developing and implementing and developing and implementing research security and scientific integrity policies. The Office of the Chief Scientist advises on the implementation of the Department’s research priorities, including agricultural systems and technology; precision nutrition and food quality and safety; agricultural economics to enhance farmer profitability; and expanding domestic markets for plant and animal products.

Previously, Mr. Brannum was the Associate Chief Information Officer (ACIO) for the Client Experience Center (CEC), responsible for delivering services and capabilities that support USDA personnel across the country and around the globe with the tools they need to deliver the mission. Mr. Brannum previously served as the Rural Development Assistant Chief Information Officer (ACIO). In this role, Mr. Brannum provided executive leadership to facilitate, modernize, and develop information technology resources to effectively support the RD Mission Area.

In this role, Dr. Benavidez leads OCE’s team in their mission to ensure USDA’s policies and programs are informed by sound, data-driven economic research in support of America’s farmers, ranchers, and rural communities.

He has extensive knowledge in leading diverse workforces to oversee large cross functional projects with multiple Agencies, utilizing a balanced combination of superior project management skills, broad technical expertise, and outstanding business sense. He is also a leader in benchmarking, capacity planning, and cross-functional team collaboration with a proven track record to assess processes, identify areas for improvement, and implement process improvement solutions at leverage points to enhance productivity.