Aaron Lavallee was appointed the Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Public Affairs and Consumer Education (OPACE) in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) in June 2012.
In this capacity, he is responsible for planning and executing communication programs that inform and educate a variety of audiences, including Congress, the media, stakeholder organizations, and consumers on FSIS policy and public health responsibilities and activities, foodborne illness prevention, and safe food handling. He is accountable for and oversees the performance management of a team of dedicated employees in four areas: The Congressional and Public Affairs Office, the Food Safety Education Staff, Freedom of Information Act Staff and the Digital Executive Correspondence Staff. Over the last eight years, he has executed FSIS’ annual consumer research program comprised of observational studies, focus groups and nationally-representative web surveys to investigate specific topics of interest to the agency in more detail.
Before his current post, he worked in USDA’s Office of Communications as a Communications Coordinator. In this role, he provided strategic communications and public relations support to USDA’s Office of the Secretary and USDA mission areas including the Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services and the Office of Food Safety. He was responsible for planning and implementing more than 35 comprehensive strategic communications efforts with far-reaching impacts on the American public. His communications work is highlighted in initiatives including MyPlate, Let’s Move!, Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, and Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food. He also served as a departmental and agency spokesperson and agency contact for policy and other matters directly supporting the mission and goals of the Secretary and USDA.
