USDA deputy under secretary wins East Kentucky Leadership Award for public individual

ESTILL COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) - Even before getting a degree from the University of Kentucky, one Estill County native was called to public service.

“It was probably in high school when I think I began to be clearer about that and really thinking about career options that were about, um, both helping people and better trying to understand, uh, what makes people tick,” said Justin Maxson, Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

He says creating destination communities starts by building strong communities.

“It’s about capital that’s available to communities. It’s about technical assistance and helping folks have access to the information and the expertise that they need. And it’s about vision,” said Maxson.

Those three things led him to a problem-solving group in Appalachia lending a local touch.

Maxson served on the planning committee for Shaping Our Appalachian Region, or SOAR, discussing the future in the mountains.

“Having those conversations about, ‘what’s our vision of a better tomorrow? What’s our current situation? And how do we get from here to there?” said Maxson.

Those conversations often involving a diverse group of leaders.

“You would have a county judge, a retired person, a coal miner, uh, a small business owner and an environmentalist who were having hard but important conversations about their communities,” said Maxson.

After more than 30 years in public service, Maxson continues to tackle those challenges at the federal level.

“At USDA, we invest $40 billion a year in rural development. And we want to drive those investments into places that have the sort of plan that SOAR is creating and, um, I just think it puts regions ahead where they’re thinking about their assets and their challenges,” said Maxson.

A career helping people by providing the tools and resources necessary for long-term success.

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