Director of the Office of Customer and Employee Experience

Monica M. Lear, Ph.D.

Monica Lear, Ph.D. is the Director of the Office of Customer and Employee Experience within the Office of the Chief Financial Officer where she is responsible for strengthening Employee and Customer Satisfaction through sustainable initiatives supporting the mission of USDA.

Dr. Lear previously served as the Research Station Director at the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Fort Collins, Colorado for the USDA Forest Service where she was responsible for the management of Forest Service research covering the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming, Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. She also previously served as the Associate Deputy Chief in Forest Service Research and Development in Washington, D.C.; Director of Forest Health Protection in State, Private and Tribal Forestry in USDA Forest Service; Deputy Associate Director and District of Columbia State Forester at the District of Columbia Department of Transportation Urban Forestry Administration; and as Assistant Director, Horticulture and Quarantine programs at the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She has earned Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Plant Health and a B.S. in Horticulture from Louisiana State University.