Vacant, Area Director  
     Diane K. Koch, Executive Assistant
Dariusz Swietlik, Acting Area Director/Associate Area Director  
     Vacant, Executive Assistant
Dr. Peggy Tomasula, Acting Associate Area Director

The Area Director provides executive leadership of the Area's scientific program and management of personnel and infrastructure required by the program. This is accomplished by: 1) Participation with the Administrator and Deputy Administrators in determining, prioritizing, and developing the research programs. 2) Staffing, implementing, coordinating and evaluating accomplishments of those programs. 3) Leadership and operational accountability within the Area for all programs and related activities, workforce safety, and environmental protection. This leadership responsibility includes operational planning, direction, and evaluation of research to implement programs in the Research Management Units. The Area Director participates in development of a complex national strategic plan for agricultural research in the Agency, and assures the plan is executed with coordination, cooperation, and integration of research with associated land-grant organizations, other Federal agencies, public entities, and private and international sector institutions.

The North Atlantic Area Director's Office has programmatic and administrative responsibility for all the Area's research locations.  In addition, we are responsible for Ethics review, the Agricultural Research Information System (ARIS), statistical services, Equal Employment Opportunity/Civil Rights, and guidance and direction in a wide array of functional areas.  We also approve generic performance standards for many scientific positions in the Area.