Bio for Douglas L. Faulkner
Acting Under Secretary
Deputy Under Secretary
Rural Development
U.S. Department of Agriculture

Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer in December 2008 named Douglas L. Faulkner as Acting Under Secretary for Rural Development.  Former Secretary Mike Johanns had named Mr. Faulkner Deputy Under Secretary in June 2006, a post he will continue to hold.  Mr. Faulkner has served in the Bush administration since 2001, including positions as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy.  In April 2006, Secretary Bodman gave Mr. Faulkner the Secretary of Energy’s award for excellence.

Since joining USDA, Mr. Faulkner has been at the center of the department’s growing energy efforts. He played a key role in the passage and now implementation of a landmark energy title in the 2008 Farm Bill, including the first federal loan guarantees for biorefineries. He also was instrumental in the development of the Bush administration’s October 2008 “National Biofuels Action Plan”, U.S. foreign policy support for sustainable biofuels worldwide, and the U.S.-Brazil biofuels partnership. 

Mr. Faulkner proposed a bold and responsible budget for fiscal year 2007 when he led the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, launching eventual Presidential initiatives in bioenergy and solar power.  Under his direction, management reforms replaced an outdated organization with a smaller, more streamlined workforce, saving millions of dollars and increasing productivity and morale.

In his nearly 30-year federal career, Mr. Faulkner served at the Central Intelligence Agency and as a senior policy adviser to two Secretaries of Energy.  His first job was as an aide to the late Edward Madigan, a former Illinois Congress member and Secretary of Agriculture.

Mr. Faulkner received a B.A. in Asian Studies from the University of Illinois and an M.A. degree from The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.  He also attended the University of Singapore as a Rotary Scholar.  He played intercollegiate basketball at home and abroad. 

Born and raised in central Illinois, Mr. Faulkner now lives in Arlington, Va., with his wife and son.  An Eagle Scout, he is active in his church and community.

(January 2009)

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