U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue administered the oath of office in a Sept. 17 ceremony to swear in Donald “DJ” LaVoy to serve as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development deputy undersecretary.

“DJ LaVoy brings decades of leadership in economic development and affordable housing to this role, and we are excited to welcome him to our USDA team,” Perdue said. “DJ has effectively led large-scale [information technology] IT innovation, interagency relationships and public/private partnerships to improve government customer service and the quality of life for Americans across the country. DJ is well equipped to fight for rural America’s economic prosperity and development, working hard to fulfill one of President [Donald] Trump’s top priorities.”

USDA said LaVoy is an experienced leader who focuses on people and effective management outcomes and has more than 22 years of experience working as a leader in affordable housing and economic development at the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. Most recently, LaVoy served as deputy assistant secretary for the Real Estate Assessment Center, where he was effective in driving agency innovation.

LaVoy led the replacement of numerous outdated IT data collection systems with data streaming and web portals architecture in a cloud environment. He also partnered with members of the federal family and all 58 state housing finance agencies to lead the way in establishing a universal inspection standard for federally subsidized properties. The standard will increase customer service and improve the lives of millions of Americans across the country.

LaVoy started his career with the U.S. Marine Corps and is a marine aviator and combat veteran. He earned a bachelor degree from Old Dominion University and a master of industrial engineering from the U.S. Army War College.