USDA Rural Development official moving to White House drug-control policy office as rural affairs adviser

Anne Hazlett

Anne Hazlett, who has served as the assistant to the secretary for Rural Development at the Department of Agriculture since June 2017, is leaving that role to serve as the senior adviser for rural affairs at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

“In her new role at ONDCP, Hazlett will help shape policy aimed at improving the quality of life in rural America, coordinate interagency efforts on drug control activity impacting rural communities, and build coalitions and grassroots strategies in these areas centered on prevention, treatment, and recovery,” a press release said.

Hazlett worked with ONDCP to create a White House Rural Opioid Federal Interagency Working Group to help improve coordination of federal resources in rural areas. She was also deeply involved in building the Community Opioid Misuse Toolbox. 

Hazlett has a deep background in rural issues. Before Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perfue tapped her for the Rural Development position, Hazlett served as majority counsel to the Senate Agriculture Committee. In her home state of Indiana, she ran the Department of Agriculture and helped create the state Office of Community and Rural Affairs.