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JESSUP, MD (June 17, 2025)<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 The\u00a0Maryland Food Center Authority (MFCA)<\/a>\u00a0Board of Directors\u00a0<\/strong>is pleased to announce the appointment of\u00a0Katie Zenk<\/strong> as the Authority\u2019s new Executive Director,<\/span>\u00a0effective August 13, 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n Experienced in food systems, agricultural economics, and public policy, Zenk most recently served in key leadership roles at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including Senior Advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. Her background spans both the public and private sectors, including work on Capitol Hill and with agricultural cooperatives, where she led federal policy efforts to strengthen food supply chains and support producers.<\/span><\/p>\n Zenk succeeds longtime Executive Director Dr. Don Darnall, who retired earlier this year after more than 30 years of service. Under Darnall\u2019s leadership, MFCA grew into a critical hub for Maryland\u2019s food distribution system and a model of public-private sector collaboration.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cKatie will keep the Food Center Authority moving forward with the solid team already in place in Jessup,\u201d said\u00a0Gail Yeiser, Chair of the MFCA Board of Directors<\/strong>. \u201cWe are looking forward to her leadership and the fresh perspective she brings as we continue building on the Authority\u2019s success.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Maryland Food Center Authority serves as a vital public-private partner dedicated to strengthening Maryland\u2019s food infrastructure. As the developer and operator of the Maryland Food Center in Jessup\u2014a centralized hub for food distribution\u2014the MFCA plays a key role in ensuring the state\u2019s food supply is safe, efficient, and sustainable.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cKatie\u2019s national experience and passion for sustainable food systems will benefit Maryland\u2019s economy, food security, and communities,\u201d said\u00a0Maryland Agriculture Secretary Kevin Atticks<\/strong>. \u201cWe\u2019re thrilled to welcome her leadership.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Zenk was selected following a comprehensive search and multi-phase interview process conducted by a hiring committee made up of members of Maryland Food Center Authority Board of Directors, including the Board Chair, University of Maryland, the Comptroller and other Cabinet Members.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI am incredibly excited about the appointment of Katie Zenk as the Food Center Authority\u2019s new leader,\u201d said\u00a0Comptroller Brooke Lierman.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cShe brings the right set of skills and experiences to lead the next chapter of this unique and special organization in our state.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cKatie Zenk\u2019s extensive expertise and forward-thinking approach stood out during the selection process,” said\u00a0Maryland Department of General Services Secretary Atif Chaudhry<\/strong>. “I\u2019m proud to welcome her as Executive Director and excited to see how she will build on Maryland Food Center Authority\u2019s strong foundation, and guide them into an exciting new era.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Under Zenk\u2019s leadership, the MFCA will continue to focus on developing and maintaining modern, sanitary, and economically viable food distribution facilities. With a mission to support food security and economic vitality across the state, the MFCA aims to be a national model for innovation and excellence in food infrastructure.<\/span><\/p>\n ###<\/span><\/p>\n About Katie Zenk<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Katie Zenk is an established leader in food and agriculture policy. Most recently, she held senior roles within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, serving as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Agriculture and as Deputy Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. In these roles, she provided strategic counsel and led deployment of major federal investments to combat hunger and strengthen agricultural supply chains.<\/span><\/p>\n Her previous experience includes serving as Staff Director for the U.S. House Agriculture Committee\u2019s Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture, where she played a key role in the development of the 2018 Farm Bill. In the private sector, Katie managed federal policy for Land O\u2019Lakes, Inc., representing farmer-owned business interests before Congress and regulatory agencies.<\/span><\/p>\n She holds an M.S. in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University, an M.B.A. from Indiana University, and a B.S. in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota. Katie was raised on a family farm in Danube, Minn., and now lives in Howard County with her husband and daughter.<\/span><\/p>\n About the Maryland Food Center Authority<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n The Maryland Food Center Authority (MFCA) is dedicated to combining the best in public and private efforts to plan, develop, and manage regional food industry facilities throughout Maryland. Through projects such as the Maryland Food Center in Jessup, the MFCA fosters job creation, business development, and long-term food security.<\/span><\/p>\n For media inquiries, please contact:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Peggy Torres<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Executive Projects Coordinator<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n ptorre@mfca.info<\/a>, 410-924-7142<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" JESSUP, MD (June 17, 2025)\u00a0\u2013 The\u00a0Maryland Food Center Authority (MFCA)\u00a0Board of Directors\u00a0is pleased to announce the appointment of\u00a0Katie Zenk as the Authority\u2019s new Executive Director,\u00a0effective August 13, 2025. Experienced in food systems, agricultural economics, and public policy, Zenk most recently served in key leadership roles at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including Senior Advisor to Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":222,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/222"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29076"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29076\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29081,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29076\/revisions\/29081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}