Karla Thieman has been appointed USDA chief of staff. Thieman most recently served as chief of staff to Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Krysta Harden. She joined the USDA in 2014 where she served as a senior policy adviser to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.
Prior to joining the USDA, Thieman worked for the Senate Agriculture Committee where she served three different chairmen. She is a graduate of the University of Missouri and grew up on a third-generation from in central Missouri.