Office Structure and Staff

Abigail Edwards serves as a Climate Fellow in the Office of Energy and Environmental Policy. Her expertise includes program and policy analysis, nutrient management, and international engagement. Abigail has experience working in agricultural conservation in both domestic and international contexts, including working for state government, academic institutions, and nongovernmental organizations. Abigail earned her Bachelors of Science in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems with minors in both Global & International Studies and History from the University of California at Davis, and her Masters in Environmental Science and Policy from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, focusing on agricultural policy.

Tony Radich is an Agricultural Economist with the Office of Energy and Environmental Policy. He focuses on analysis of biofuels markets and the biobased economy. He also reviews all Environmental Protection Agency regulations that pertain to biofuels, including the Renewable Fuel Standard, vehicle fuel economy standards, and liquid fuels specifications. Prior to joining USDA in 2016, Tony worked for 15 years at the U.S. Energy Information Administration, where he covered fuel ethanol and biodiesel markets. He contributed to the Annual Energy Outlook, the Short-Term Energy Outlook, and helped to launch the Biodiesel Production Survey. Tony holds an B.A. in Economics and Business, a BS in Mechanical Engineering, and a PhD in Economics.

Carissa Spencer is a Climate Adaptation Coordinator in USDA’s Office of Energy and Environmental Policy (OEEP) in the Office of the Chief Economist, on detail from the Farm Service Agency (FSA). She works with colleagues across USDA to integrate climate adaptation into their planning, programs, and operations to ensure USDA is equipped to serve and support its stakeholders in a changing climate.

Dr. Hartley is responsible for the development of policy, tools, and metrics to facilitate private investment in conservation and the participation of farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners in emerging environmental markets. Dr. Hartley leads USDA engagement in the National Nature Assessment, Nature Based Solutions, and America the Beautiful / 30x30 Initiatives. He previously coordinated USDA engagement in the White House initiative to develop and maintain Statistics for Environmental-Economic Decision-making for the United States and served on assignments as the Acting Administrator for the Economic Research Service and as Senior Advisor to the Research Education and Economics Mission Area. Dr. Hartley served with the U.S. Peace Corps as an agricultural extension agent in Senegal, West Africa. He is a Certified Crop Advisor and a licensed Pest Control Advisor.

Liz Marshall is an Economist with the Office of Energy and Environmental Policy. She provides support for the Department’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Assessment Program and for USDA efforts to improve greenhouse gas emissions estimates from agriculture and advance their use in decision-making at multiple scales. Liz has an M.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota.

Herrick (“Rick”) Fox is USDA’s Bioeconomy Coordinator, supporting the integration of bioeconomy-related activities across the Department and serving as the Department’s technical representative in interagency and international bioeconomy initiatives. For most of his prior 15 years in USDA, Rick was engaged directly in our nation’s bioeconomy through the U.S. Forest Service: first on the ground in forest management on the National Forests, and later in forest policy and regulation for USDA leadership and on assignment to the US Senate Committee on Agriculture. For the rest of those years Rick worked in senior management with USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service in agricultural trade capacity-building. Rick holds a B.S. in Conservation & Resource Studies from U.C. Berkeley and a Master’s in Forest Science from Yale.

Jeff O’Hara is the Deputy Director of the Office of Energy Policy and New Uses. Jeff researches and analyzes energy and bioeconomy policies. These policy topics include biofuels, sustainable aviation fuel, biomaterials and products, and agricultural and forestry feedstocks. Prior to joining USDA’s Office of the Chief Economist in 2021, Jeff was an economist at USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and the Chicago Climate Exchange. Jeff received a PhD in economics from the University of California, San Diego.

Kate Zook serves as the Deputy Director of Climate Change and Environmental Markets in the Office of Energy and Environmental Policy. Kate works with USDA leadership to coordinate policy and activities related to climate change mitigation, energy, and environmental markets for the U.S. agriculture sector. Her expertise is in policy analysis related to market-based conservation, agriculture, and climate change. Kate has domestic and international experience in agricultural resource management, working for both academic and nongovernmental organizations. She also has served a variety of public policy roles, including a term at the White House in the Office of Management and Budget. Kate earned undergraduate degrees in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management from the University of Delaware, and a Masters of Environmental Management from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, focusing on economics and policy.

Laura Gallagher is an Environmental Policy Analyst with the Office of the Chief Economist, on detail from the Agricultural Marketing Service. Laura focuses on environmental markets, including standards and verification of environmental attributes across the supply chain.

Leah Roffman joined the Office of Energy and Environmental Policy (OEEP) as a Climate Fellow in October 2023. In her role, she coordinates across OEEP workstreams and supports staff needs related to data management and external engagement. She holds a B.A. in Public Policy from Duke University.

Dr. Margaret Walsh is OEEP’s Senior Ecologist, focusing on Climate Assessment, Scientific Analysis, Decision-Support Tool Development, International Science, Food Systems and Security, and Sustainability.

Maya Patel is a Presidential Management Fellow and Natural Resources Specialist in the Office of Energy and Environmental Policy. Maya focuses on methane mitigation in livestock, environmental markets, and international engagement. Maya has domestic and international experience in climate, energy, and environmental policy working for state and federal government and has also held roles in academic and non-governmental organizations including a term at the White House Council of Environmental Quality. Maya holds a degree in Chemistry from the University of Texas and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University.

Mindy Selman is a Senior Analyst with the Office of Energy and Environmental Policy. She leads the Department's Inventory and Assessment Program, helping to coordinate agriculture-related GHG quantification activities and analyses across USDA and with partner agencies. Her expertise is in GHG measurement monitoring and reporting as well as policy analysis related to market-based conservation, agriculture, and climate change. Ms. Selman also has extensive experience developing farm-scale tools for estimating environmental benefits, including the Nutrient Tracking Tool, a farm-scale tool for estimating nutrient and sediment losses from crop and pasture lands, and the Greenhouse Gas Livestock Emissions Estimation (GLEE) tool, a tool to estimate emissions from the livestock sector and evaluate mitigation opportunities for feed and manure management activities.

Dr. Stephanie Morris is the Senior Climate Adaptation Coordinator in USDA’s Office of Energy and Environmental Policy (OEEP) in the Office of the Chief Economist. She works with colleagues across USDA to integrate climate adaptation into their planning, programs, and operations to ensure USDA is equipped to serve and support its stakeholders in a changing climate. Stephanie came to OEEP from USDA’s Office of the Chief Scientist, where she was a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow working on climate, natural resources, international affairs, and agricultural science policy issues. Prior to joining USDA, she worked as a research scientist at the Environment Laboratories of the International Atomic Energy Agency and served as a NOAA John A. Knauss Legislative Fellow in the U.S. House of Representatives. Dr. Morris has a B.S. in Chemistry from Sewanee: The University of the South and a Ph.D. in Chemical Oceanography from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program.

Wes Hanson is an Agricultural Economist with the Office of Energy and Environmental Policy. He co-leads the Department's Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Assessment Program, and coordinates efforts across the Department to improve greenhouse gas emission estimates in the agricultural sector. He is the lead author of Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Agriculture and Forestry: Methods for Entity-Scale Inventory (second edition), and the U.S. Agriculture and Forestry Greenhouse Gas Inventory: 1990-2018. Wes is an alumnus of the Presidential Management Fellows program, and a Veteran of the USAF. He holds a MPP in Environmental Policy from the University of Maryland, and a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Linfield University.