After a nearly two-decade career in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), FIU alumna Deirdra Chester '03 has taken on a new role as the department’s Director for the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS).
The OCS provides strategic coordination of science initiatives to inform the federal government’s decisions, policies and regulations as they relate to U.S. food and agriculture. As the director for OCS, Deirdra is responsible for ensuring all research and science for the USDA is held to the highest levels of scientific integrity.
For her, leading OCS is the culmination of hard work and persistence—one that couldn’t have happened without the support she received from her parents in her earlier years.
“I'm a first-generation college student. Neither one of my parents went to college, but they were my biggest supporters,” Deirdra shared. “I know that they're looking down and are very happy and proud of me.”
In 2019, to prepare her for a future leadership role, Deirdra applied and got accepted to the USDA’s competitive Senior Executive Service Candidate Development program—out of 1,200 applicants, only 40 were chosen, including Deirdra. After completing the intensive 9-month program, Deirdra was equipped with the skills and experience needed to qualify for a senior executive position within the federal government.
Susan Himburg, Deirdra’s major professor at FIU, is proud to see how far her former student has gone since graduating from the university.
“It is a milestone in the profession of dietetics and nutrition that an FIU graduate would be chosen to supervise scientists in all disciplines within the USDA,” she said. “It has been exciting to watch Deirdra blossom further in the USDA—it’s where she got hired right out of school.”
Deirdra previously led the Division of Nutrition at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) where she was responsible for funding nutrition research across universities and colleges. In a previous role at NIFA, Deirdra was a National Program Leader, where she identified emerging issues of national importance, and led grants management in the areas of nutrition, functional components of food, and childhood obesity. Prior to joining NIFA, Deirdra was a scientist at USDA’s Agriculture Research Service.
Deirdra earned her doctoral degree in Dietetics and Nutrition at FIU’s Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work where she was awarded the McKnight Doctoral Fellowship and was in the inaugural class of the Gates Millennial Scholars. Her time at FIU helped her narrow down what path she wanted to take in her career.
“You work hard to get through a Ph.D. It’s very grueling, and you’re constantly proving yourself,” she said. “What I realized with academia is that it’s the same concept. I was open to teaching on the side, but I felt I could make an impact as a government scientist.”