Janie Hipp, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation who has spent considerable time in Arkansas with the Universtiy of Arkansas School of Law in various roles, was nominated to serve as Chief Counsel to USDA. She currently serves as CEO of the Native American Agriculture Fund, a charitable trust created with legal settlement funds from USDA to provide grants to eligible organizations for business assistance, agriculture education, technical support, and advocacy services to support Native farmers and ranchers.
More below:
https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/15520-biden-picks-janie-hipp-for-usda-general-counsel
https://law.uark.edu/alumni/alumni-spotlight/alumni-spotlight-janiehipp.php
https://nativeamericanagriculturefund.org/janie-simms-hipp
Janie Hipp, General Counsel of the Department of Agriculture
Janie Simms Hipp, J.D., LL.M grew up in a small southeast Oklahoma community, beginning her legal career in the 1980s during the tumultuous farm financial crisis as farmers and ranchers faced problems unrivaled since the Great Depression. She served within the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office while establishing a national presence advocating on behalf of farmers and ranchers. Hipp received an LLM in Agriculture Law from the University of Arkansas, joining what was to become a new specialization focusing on the legal complexities of agriculture. She taught agricultural law and food policy for decades while crisscrossing the country working with farmers, ranchers and food businesses. In addition to authoring numerous domestic publications on agriculture and nutrition law, her work also includes international engagement on matters related to food policy. Her domestic and international law and policy career spans over thirty-five years. She has been recognized as a Distinguished Alumni at two universities and has been recognized twice by the American Agriculture Law Association. She is a member of the Chickasaw Nation located in Oklahoma and resides in Arkansas with her husband.