USDA names Katrina coordinators

USDA has appointed a pair of its senior advisors to coordinate hurricane relief operations. The task goes to Gilbert Gonzalez, senior advisor to the Secretary, and James Little, Administrator of the Farm Service Agency. The announcement notes Gonzalez comes to the work from USDA Rural Development and previously worked in banking, housing and economic development, including serving as president of the Community Development Loan Fund in Texas.

The announcement also offers a little further insight into the structure of the federal disaster response with this paragraph:

Gonzalez will serve as the USDA's primary liaison at the Joint Field Office (JFO), in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The JFO is the multi-agency coordination center established to respond to Hurricane Katrina. Working under the direction of Vice Admiral Theodore Allen, Gonzalez coordinates federal assistance activities, particularly as they relate to the agriculture sector. Little joins Gonzalez in this effort to provide effective and efficient coordination of federal, state and local response to the relief effort.