July 2024 Snapshots
Washington, D.C.
On June 25, FSIS employees from the Office of Investigation, Enforcement and Audit (OIEA) participated in USDA’s 2nd Annual Student Intern and Early Career Talent Welcome Event at USDA Headquarters. FSIS Chief Operating Officer Todd Reed spoke at the event.
Pictured: In the Thermy costume is OIEA Senior Program Auditor Estella Perez. Escorting her is OIEA International Audit Staff Director Dr. Juan Rodriguez.
Photo by LeVonya Davis of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service.
Pictured: Thermy joins AMS dairy mascot Milkshake and college student interns attending the event.
Photo by OIEA International Audit Staff Director Dr. Juan Rodriguez.
Las Vegas, Nev.
On June 26, FSIS employees from the Office of Investigation, Enforcement and Analysis (OIEA) and the Office of Public Affairs and Consumer Education (OPACE) staffed an exhibit booth at the League of United Latin American Citizens National Convention, where an estimated 15,000 attendees attended its Career Fair and Health Expo.
Pictured, from left: OIEA Investigator Rosa Recio, OPACE Public Affairs Specialist Jesus Garcia.
Photo by Outreach Specialist Michael Greene of USDA’s Risk Management Agency.
Washington, D.C.
On July 2, Administrator Paul Kiecker (pictured below, center) presented Chief Human Capital Officer Joe Abbott (left) and Office of Field Operations Assistant Administrator Paul Wolseley (right) and with certificates recognizing them each for 40 years of federal service.
Photo by Deputy Chief of Staff Dr. Jenifer Tolan.
Marshall, Minn.
On June 13, Administrator Kiecker toured an establishment, met with FSIS employees, and discussed the Tuition Reimbursement Program, available to all FSIS personnel after one year of service, regardless of position. He also recalled working in Marshall as a consumer safety inspector earlier in his career.
Pictured, from left: Administrator Kiecker, FI Elvin Lopez Gonzalez, CSI Scott Nelson, DDM Carol Ford, CSI Jose Reyna, FI Lay Rattanavong, CSIs Tashi Marlow, Katlun Pohlman.
Photo by Acting Deputy Chief of Staff Kathryn Tapp.
Pictured, from left: SCSI Joel DeVos, DDM Carol Ford, FLS Dr. Amy Swenson and Administrator Kiecker.
Photo by Acting Deputy Chief of Staff Kathryn Tapp.
Cold Spring, Minn.
On June 13, Administrator Kiecker toured an establishment, held a work unit meeting with employees and discussed fiscal year 2024 monetary awards and how the agency recognizes the important contributions of FSIS employees all year long.
Pictured, from Left: CSI Colleen Herrian, SPHV Dr. Karin Lupo, DDM Carol Ford, FLS Dr. Christine Storey, CSI Gayle Satterstrom, CSI Farhan Ali and Administrator Kiecker.
Photo by Acting Deputy Chief of Staff Kathryn Tapp.
Willmar, Minn.
On June 13, Administrator Kiecker toured an establishment, met with FSIS employees and heard about the different career journeys taken by the local inspection team. Administrator Kiecker also recalled earlier in his career working with Dr. Dave Sather in Minnesota.
Pictured, from left: CSI Genevieve Bellot, FLS Christine Storey, DDM Carol Ford, SPHV Dave Sather, CSI Yvette Hernandez, CSI Andrea Jorgenson and Administrator Paul Kiecker.
A special thanks to CSI Andrea Jorgenson for creating such a warm welcome sign for Administrator Kiecker, DDM Ford and Acting Deputy Chief of Staff Kathryn Tapp!
Photo by Acting Deputy Chief of Staff Kathryn Tapp.
Pictured: SPHV Dr. Dave Sather with CSI Jorgenson’s artfully decorated welcome sign.
Photo by Acting Deputy Chief of Staff Kathryn Tapp.
Bronx, N.Y.
In May and June, New York Circuit employees participated in a Food Safety Challenge. During in-person and virtual meetings, inspectors gave presentations on topics such as food allergy awareness, Salmonella as an adulterant (FSIS Notice 15-24), water in meat and poultry products, ground beef food safety, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), and Listeria in ready-to-eat meat and poultry products.
Frontline Supervisor (FLS) Marilu Simeone recommended awards for their effort and said, “Overall, employees in the circuit are performing very well as a team. Excellent participation during work unit meetings, great communication and teamwork. Great job, everyone! Special kudos to the following inspectors for stepping up for the challenge: Aida, Harish, Eric, Vincent, Merwyn and Marianna. Thank you for your efforts!”
Pictured, front row, from left: Consumer Safety Inspectors (CSI) Bessie Bouras and Marianna Dergalo; FLS Marilu Simeone; CSIs Aida Custodio, Aung Soe, Vincent Ting, Herold Pierre and Harish Kannikkanari.
Back row, from left: CSIs Jessica Lewis, Ben Xu, Merwyn Wang, Michael Salvatore, Luis Reyes and Jillian Delisle.
Hands up: CSIs Eric Sasu and Nicholas Sgobba.
Photo by an establishment employee.
Fort Madison, Iowa
On June 10, Administrator Kiecker met with FSIS employees at a local establishment and discussed the longevity of a career with FSIS.
Pictured from Left: Consumer Safety Inspector (CSI) Lyle Short, Frontline Supervisor (FLS) Dr. Randy York, Deputy District Manager (DDM) Carol Ford and Administrator Kiecker.
Photo by Acting Deputy Chief of Staff Kathryn Tapp.
Ottumwa, Iowa
On June 10, Administrator Kiecker toured an area establishment, met with FSIS employees on both the first and second shifts, and discussed the accelerated promotion opportunity for CSIs in those locations that are identified as hard-to-fill.
Pictured from Left: CSI Joseph Bay, DDM Ford, CSI Tonya Daniel, Supervisory Public Health Veterinarian (SPHV) Dr. Michael Nash and Administrator Kiecker.
Photo by Acting Deputy Chief of Staff Kathryn Tapp.
Grinnell, Iowa
On June 11, Administrator Kiecker toured an area establishment, met with FSIS employees, and discussed the integral role of teamwork within a circuit.
Pictured from Left: CSI Javier Sanchez, DDM Ford, FLS Dr. Randy York, Administrator Kiecker.
Photo by Acting Deputy Chief of Staff Kathryn Tapp.
Marshalltown, Iowa
On June 11, Administrator Kiecker toured an area establishment, held work unit meetings with first and second-shift inspection personnel, and discussed the importance of everyone starting to consider their retirement. He encouraged planning for retirement no matter what stage you are in your career.
First shift. Pictured, front row, from left: CSI Javier Sanchez; DDM Carol Ford; Food Inspectors (FI) Melissa Lang, Luke Randall, Evelyne Lopez, Isabella Acosta and John Rukakiza; SPHV Dr. Melissa Hlavacek.
Back row, from left: Administrator Kiecker; CSIs Sean Lynch, James Coleman, and Ethan Walton; FI Glen Fick; FLS Dr. Randy York; Supervisory CSI (SCSI) Ben Wolfe.
Second shift. Pictured, front row, from left: DDM Carol Ford, FI Lorena Valdez, CSI Catie Garber, FI Laura Martinez
Back row, from left: SPHV Dr. Doug Hartman, Administrator Kiecker, SCSI Jacinto Arellano, FI John Akoi, CSIs David Kut, Bol Chol, FI De Ko, FI Jason Maitland, FLS Dr. Randy York, SCSI Ben Wolfe.
Photo by Acting Deputy Chief of Staff Kathryn Tapp.
Crystal City, Va.
On June 3-7, FSIS new supervisors took part in the Hybrid New Supervisor Training Program (H-NSTP). The goal of the training is to prepare new supervisors for their leadership roles and to emphasize supervisory behaviors that encompass the knowledge, skills and other attributes required to build high-performance teams.
Pictured seated: Supervisory Public Health Veterinarian (SPHV) Dr. Trisha Roberts, Supervisory Consumer Safety Inspector (SCSI) Francisco Abreu, SPHV Dr. Mirella Lopez, SCSI Doug Templeton, Resource Manager Sherry Toberman, Deputy Administrator Terri Nintemann, Office of Planning, Analysis and Risk Management; Deputy Assistant Administrator (DAA) Damon Ranftle, Supervisory Compliance Investigator Rob Allshouse, SPHV Dr. Hallie Varvel.
Standing front row, from left: Office of Management DAA Natalie Duncan; SCSIs Victor Aldaco, Mario Smith, Rachel Dominguez-Finer and Guillermo Correa; SPHV Dr. Shereen Zakaria; SCSIs Jenna King and Felicia Young; SPHV Dr. Chelsea Drumgoole; Acting International Coordination Executive Margaret Burns Rath; Supervisory Enforcement, Investigations and Analysis Officer Greg Lippmann.
Standing second row, from left: Office of Program and Policy Development Assistant Administrator (AA) Rachel Edelstein; Supervisory Statistician Ace Tenney; SCSIs Patrick McCarver and Selena Barbee; Laboratory Quality Assurance, Response and Coordination Staff Deputy Director Rebecca Fields; Office of Investigation, Enforcement and Audit (OIEA) DAA Robert Witte, Resource Manager Sheila Santiago, OCFO Budget Director Michael Toner, SPHV Dr. Marissa Oster, Executive Associate for Staffing and Budget Sheila Williamson, Property Management Division Branch Chief Wes Franco Jr., OIEA AA Robert Bane; Assistant Chief Information Officer Carl Mayes.
Standing third row, from left: Executive Associate for Regulatory Operations (EARO) Melissa Moore; OPHS DAA and Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Kis Robertson-Hale; SCSIs Sabrina Lincoln, Ben Rostick and AC Campos; Administrator Paul Kiecker; SCSI Oscar Perez.
Back row, from left: EARO William Griffin; Chief Operating Officer Todd Reed; Supervisory IT Specialist Malcolm Farley; SCSI Rick Jackson; SPHVs Dr. Nathan Dierks and Lt. Will Boyd; SCSIs Ron White and Paul Boehme; Office of Employee Engagement and Development Executive Associate of Employee Experience Pete Bridgeman.
Photo courtesy of H-NSTP Manager Tina Blain.
St. Louis, Mo.
On June 6, Administrator Paul Kiecker (pictured below, right) visited the Midwest Lab and presented Consumer Safety Inspector Gary Riggs with a certificate of recognition for 15 years with FSIS.
Photo by Frontline Supervisor Peter Duryea.
