Cheryl Cook returned to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture in March 2015, following a six-year stint in the federal government under the Obama Administration. She was appointed to serve as the United State Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Chief Information Officer from April 2012 to March 2015, after serving as Deputy Under Secretary for USDA’s Rural Development Mission Area from March 2009 to April 2012. From April 2003 to March 2009, Cook served under former Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff as Deputy Secretary for Marketing and Economic Development. Secretary Redding appointed Cheryl Cook as Deputy Secretary for Market Development in January 2017, following nearly two years as the Agency’s Chief Innovation Officer. As a Deputy Secretary, Cook oversees the Bureaus of Farm Show, Farmland Preservation, Food Distribution, and Market Development.
A lawyer by training, Cook’s career has included a range of service to production agriculture and rural communities. She has served in a variety of roles, from cooperative development as Executive Director of the Keystone Development Center to Pennsylvania State Director for USDA’s Rural Development programs. She has also served as the Assistant Director of the National Farmers Union’s (NFU) legislative staff in Washington, DC and Assistant to the President of NFU’s Pennsylvania chapter. She returns to the department with 30 years of experience and a commitment to advance the department’s diverse missions.
Cook received a 2017 Meritorious Service to Agriculture Award from National Farmers Union for outstanding leadership and service to family agriculture and to Farmers Union. She also was named by Federal Computer Week magazine as one of the “Federal 100” in 2015, an annual award recognizing government and industry leaders who have played pivotal roles in the federal government IT community.