The White House has hired Kelliann Blazek as special assistant to the president for agriculture and rural policy.
Blazek was recently the director of the Office of Rural Prosperity within the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. She previously worked as staff counsel for Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine (D-1), where she oversaw a policy portfolio including agriculture, rural development and trade. She has also worked on agriculture policy at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and Harvard Law School’s Food Law and Policy Clinic.
According to Politico, Blazek’s appointment comes after rural advocates and farm-state lawmakers pressed the Biden administration to appoint an envoy to “focus on health and economic challenges in those communities.”
