United States Military District of of Washington Joint Armed Forces Color Guard present the colors, during the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2017 National Hispanic Heritage Month Observance event, in Washington, D.C., on September 14, 2017.
September 15 – October, 15, is designated as National Hispanic Heritage Month. USDA employees are encouraged to take time to learn about the diverse cultures that exists within the USDA workforce. The keynote speaker is USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Eastern Business Service Center Director Willis Collie. Moderating the panel discussion is Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) Civil Rights Office Director Adriano Vasquez. Topics of discussion included: Significant Contributions at USDA, Leadership Experience, Taking Charge of Your Career, and Work/Life Balance. Panelists include (seen from audience right-left) ARS Research Plant Pathologist Dr. Marcial A. “Talo”Pastor-Corrales, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) District Conservationist Heysha R. Cordero Rodriguez, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Editing and Imputation Branch Sampling Chief Mark Apodaca, and ARS Research Entomologist Dr. Fernando E. Vega. An award for Best Hispanic Employment Program Manager of the Year will be presented.
The event is sponsored by the Diversity, Recruitment, Work/Life Division - Office of Human Resources Management - Departmental Management; Office of the Chief Information Officer; Office of Operations; Agricultural Marketing Service; ARS; Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion; Economic Research Service; Farm Service Agency; Food and Nutrition Service; Food Safety and Inspection Service; FAS; Forest Service; Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration; National Agricultural Library; National Agricultural Statistics Service; National Institute of Food and Agriculture; NRCS; Risk Management Agency; and Rural Development. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.
. Original public domain image from Flickr