Senator Stabenow Announces Staff Hires, Full Committee Team in Preparation of Farm Bill Process

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) announced today additional professional staff hires as the Committee gears up for the 2023 Farm Bill.

Joining the staff as Deputy Staff Director is Eyang Garrison, a longtime agriculture leader and advocate for agriculture and nutrition.  Garrison currently serves as the chief of staff to Deputy Agriculture Secretary Jewel Bronaugh, a role she has held since March 2021.  She previously worked in Congress as the Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director to then-Congresswoman Marcia Fudge of Ohio, and as a legislative assistant to Congresswoman Gwen Moore of Wisconsin. She will join the Committee in March.

“I’m excited to have Eyang join our team as we begin writing the Farm Bill,” said Stabenow.  “She brings with her a depth of knowledge from both Capitol Hill and USDA, and I know she will be a key voice in our preparation and delivery of the 2023 Farm Bill.  I am proud to have a strong team in place, ready to work with our Republican colleagues to pass a strong, bipartisan Farm Bill.”

Additional recent senior staff hires include Brandon Honeycutt as Senior Professional Staff, Jay Tilton as the Committee’s Press Secretary, Chris Neubert as a Budget Analyst and Professional Staff member, and Courtney Knight and Allie Lock as Policy Analysts.  They join a team of staffers with deep experience in both traditional farm programs, nutrition and hunger programs, rural development, conservation and climate issues. 

The Committee’s full staff roster includes:

• Mikayla Bodey, Senior Professional Staff:  Bodey has been with the Committee for two years and previously served in the offices of Congresswoman Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and former Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.).  She is a graduate of The Ohio State University.  Bodey works on rural development, broadband, biofuels, energy and appropriations issues.

• Claire Borzner, Senior Professional Staff: Borzner has been with the Committee for well over three years, having previously served in the offices of Senator Robert Casey (D-Pa.) and Congressman Mike Doyle (D-Pa.).  Borzner is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross.  Borzner works on nutrition, food aid, and global food security issues.

• Erica Chabot, Staff Director: Chabot joined the Committee last year, having spent the last 20 years working for former Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) in both his personal office and on his Judiciary Committee staff, most recently serving as his Legislative Director and Deputy Chief of Staff.  Chabot is a graduate of St. Michael’s College.

• Callie Eideberg, Senior Professional Staff:  Eideberg has been with the Committee for a year, having spent her career working on conservation related issues.  She previously worked for the Environmental Defense Fund and at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Eideberg is a graduate of Western Kentucky University and received her law degree from Tulane University.  Eideberg works on conservation and climate issues.
• Brandon Honeycutt, Senior Professional Staff: Honeycutt joined the Committee last fall, having previously served in the office of Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.). He worked for over four years in the House with Congressman Jimmy Panetta and the House Committee on Agriculture. Honeycutt is a graduate of North Carolina State University. Honeycutt works on research, specialty crops, organics, food safety, hemp, and local foods.

• Chu-Yuan Hwang, Chief Counsel: Hwang previously served as Deputy Chief Counsel on the House Committee on Agriculture and as an attorney at both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  She is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Virginia School of Law.  Hwang works on nutrition, rural development, and research issues.

• Lucy Hynes, Senior Counsel: Hynes joined the Committee over a year ago, having previously spent over six years at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).  Prior to government service, Hynes worked for a decade in private practice.  She is a graduate of the University of Virginia and of the American University Washington College of Law.  Hynes covers the CFTC, nominations, oversight and forestry issues.

• Khadija Jahfiya, Professional Staff: Jahfiya joined the Committee over three years ago, serving as a legislative fellow and policy analyst before her current role.  She is a graduate of Spelman College, and earned a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Jahfiya works on local foods, food waste, urban agriculture, underserved farmers and nutrition issues.

• Susan Keith, Special Counsel: Keith is a longtime Senate staffer having first joined the Agriculture Committee in 2001 under then-Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), and returned to the Committee in 2018.  Keith is a graduate of Coe College and of the University of Iowa College of Law.  Keith works on commodities, crop insurance, credit, trade and CFTC issues.

• Kirin Kennedy, Senior Professional Staff: Kennedy has been with the Committee for nearly a year, having previously worked at the Sierra Club and, prior to that, for Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.D.C.). Kennedy is a graduate of Penn State University.  Kennedy works on forestry, environmental regulation, pesticides and biotech issues.

• Courtney Knight, Policy Analyst: Knight joined the Committee in January, having previously worked at Pioneer Public Affairs and in campaign finance with the Senate Majority PAC.  She is a graduate of Washington and Lee University.  Knight works on conservation, forestry, climate, environmental regulations and pesticides issues.

• Allie Lock, Policy Analyst: Lock joined the Committee earlier this month, having previously worked at Cornerstone Government Affairs for nearly two years.  She is a former intern of Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.).  She is a graduate of the University of Missouri.  Lock works on research, specialty crops, organics, livestock, animal health and animal welfare issues.

• Cole McEldowney, Executive Assistant: McEldowney has been with the Committee since November, serving as a staff assistant.  He is a graduate of Spring Arbor University in Michigan, and is currently attending graduate school at American University.

• Chris Neubert, Professional Staff and Budget Analyst: Neubert joined the Committee earlier this year, having previously served on the Senate Budget Committee as a policy advisor focusing on agriculture and nutrition related issues.  He is a graduate of Grinnell College, and earned a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Neubert works on rural development, energy and budget issues.

• Alex Noffsinger, Professional Staff: Noffsinger has been with the Committee for over a year, having previously worked on agriculture issues for the Russell Group and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture.  He is a graduate of Michigan State University.  Noffsinger works on trade, commodities, crop insurance, food aid and global food security issues.

• Brandon Pachman, Staff Assistant: Pachman joined the Committee this week, having previously served in the office of retired Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and as an intern in the office of Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).  Pachman is a graduate of the University of Rochester.

• Elizabeth Rivera, Deputy Press Secretary: Rivera has worked for Senator Stabenow for over two years, with a focus on digital media.  Rivera is a graduate of the University of Oregon.

• Jay Tilton, Press Secretary: Tilton has worked in the Senate for over 10 years, most recently serving as the Press Secretary for the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations.  He is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and Vermont Law and Graduate School.

• Kyle Varner, Senior Professional Staff: Varner has served on the Committee for the last 10 years, working on both the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills.  Varner is a graduate of Michigan State University.  Varner works on commodities, crop insurance, credit, trade, dairy, livestock, animal health and animal welfare issues.

• Lauren Wustenberg, Counsel: Wustenberg has been with the Committee for over a year.  She previously held internships with the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems and Food Law Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School.  Wustenberg is a graduate of Northwestern University, McGill University and Vermont Law and Graduate School.  Wustenberg works on conservation, climate, environmental regulation, pesticides, specialty crops, organics and local foods.

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