August 1, 2024 This week's episode features an interview with Monica Armster Rainge, Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Vernon and Monica explore key insights from her experience as an advocate and advisor at USDA. Monica Armster Rainge is a globally recognized agricultural lawyer, mediator, and farm advocate. She is one of the most influential female leaders in agriculture today. For more than 25 years, her passion has been fighting for justice for underserved and marginalized communities in food, agriculture, land rights and natural resources management. In February 2021, Monica Amster Rainge was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the USDA. In this role, she led the enforcement of federal civil rights laws, regulations, executive orders, and departmental policies that protect the USDA's workforce and customers from discrimination. Attorney Rainge has held significant leadership roles in department-wide, transformative initiatives to advance equity, racial justice, and access to opportunity at the USDA. She currently serves as a Senior Advisor on USDA’s implementation team for the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program (DFAP), a historic $2.2 billion program providing financial assistance to farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination prior to January 2021. Prior to her appointment, she served as the Director of Land Retention and Advocacy for the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/ Land Assistance Fund where she led the development and management of outreach and technical assistance programs that support regional land retention and advocacy initiatives for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. She also directed the Regional Heirs Property and Mediation Center which provides USDA-certified mediation services in Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana. Ms. Rainge holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, and a juris doctor from the University of Florida. She earned a Master of Laws degree in Agricultural Law from the University of Arkansas.
