Brian Ronholm joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture in April 2011 as deputy under secretary for food safety. In this position, he provides leadership and oversight for the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the Department's public health agency responsible for ensuring the nation's commercial supply of meat, poultry and egg products is safe, wholesome and correctly labeled and packaged.
Mr. Ronholm has a wealth of experience in food safety, nutrition and consumer protection policy. Most recently, he served as an Agriculture Appropriations associate on the staff of Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro, managing a wide range of issues related to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies in support of the former chairwoman. Mr. Ronholm was actively involved in many comprehensive legislative efforts to improve food safety and nutrition, including the 2008 Farm Bill, the Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill, and the recently enacted FDA Food Safety Modernization Act.
Prior to his work as a professional staff member for Congresswoman DeLauro, Mr. Ronholm worked on public health policy in the private sector.
He earned a master's degree in political management at The George Washington University and an undergraduate degree in finance, with an emphasis on political science and economics, from California State University at Hayward.