Courtesy / USDA
Rhiannon Hampson, Maine director for USDA Rural Development
December 15, 2021
USDA Rural Development names new director for Maine, Rhiannon Hampson
By Jessica Hall
Rhiannon Hampson has been named Maine director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Program, replacing Timothy Hobbs, who served as state director under the Trump administration.
Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life of Americans in rural areas. Rural Development typically invests around $400 million in Maine each year through its housing, business, and community programs.
The assistance supports infrastructure improvements, business development, housing, community facilities such as schools, public health and the development of high-speed internet access in rural, tribal and high-poverty areas.
Hampson told Mainebiz she wants to raise awareness of what Rural Development does, with funding, investment and advocacy for rural residents being her mandates.
“We’re not the first thing that comes to people’s minds. And we want to change that. When you see fire stations or community centers — all those were built with rural development dollars,” Hampson said. “We want to raise awareness of what Rural Development does and can do.
“I grew up a poor kid in Maine. I want to help people in the most rural pockets and find out what they need. I want to bring the needs of Maine forward to D.C. and bring the USDA to Mainers."
Hampson, who has lived in rural towns including Alna, Machias, Trescott and now Thomaston, said she wants to spread the benefits of Rural Development to pockets of Maine and economically disadvantaged people who may not otherwise know of the agency.
“There are folks who may not know how to avail themselves of these programs. It’s my job to reach them and help raise the quality of life of all rural people,” she said.
Maine faces a “trifecta” of opportunity that she hopes to move forward, she believes.
“We have these broad natural resources that we have managed so well. We have this unique workforce with the inherent Yankee work ethics that when things get hard, we work harder. And we have the historic investment of the Biden-Harris administration in infrastructure. Maine has the capacity to deploy these resources,” Hampson said.
Her aims include a broad mix of issues, ranging from affordable housing, labor shortages and keeping farms in business to aiding lobster processors to helping rural Mainers handle climate change.
“We‘re watching the climate crisis come at us. We can look at it as if we’re falling off a cliff or we can see it as a chance to jump into opportunity,” Hampson said.
She recently served as the district representative for agricultural and environmental issues in the office of U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, 1st District.
In that role, Hampson said she deepened her knowledge of Maine’s heritage industries and observed firsthand how USDA helps rural communities.
A member of a multigenerational military family, Hampson previously worked in social work for adults with developmental disabilities. She graduated from the University of Maine at Machias, where she earned a bachelor of arts in psychology and community studies.
Prior to Hampson, Tommy Higgins had served as acting state director for nearly a year. He remains with the agency as associate enterprise director.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments