I am excited to announce the promotion of Rusty Rock as our new Food Safety and Animal Health Program Director, effective immediately. Rusty has been with ODA since 2009, successfully serving the department as an inspector in Pendleton for six years, then moving to Salem to join the Food Safety Program management team.

In August 2021, Rusty graciously accepted the opportunity to serve as interim program director. In that time, Rusty has proven to be an excellent match for this position and a solid asset to the ODA executive management team.

Rusty has over 30 years of experience in the food manufacturing and food safety industry and a verified track record of success in working with customers, stakeholders, and the media, which will be valuable in meeting our goals and objectives. He worked tirelessly to create a comprehensive playbook for Oregon food producers to follow during the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling them to stay open and help protect employee health.

It’s a great honor to have this level of talent in the department that we can promote within. I have no doubt Rusty will continue to represent ODA and excel skillfully as a program area director. I know he is excited to work with our executive management team, helping to take ODA into the next era. Rusty knows we have a lot of work ahead of us and believes our passionate and intelligent team is up to the task.

Please join me in congratulating Rusty on his promotion and wish him the very best!