Thomas Vilsack, former United States Secretary of Agriculture and Governor of Iowa, currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of the World Food Prize Foundation. During his two terms as Governor of Iowa, he created an $800 million, 10-year economic development incentive program—the Iowa Values Fund—that worked with schools, medical providers, businesses, faith-based organizations and other entities to expand healthcare coverage to more than 90,000 previously uninsured children. He also collaborated with the legislature to develop Vision Iowa, a program that resulted in a $3 billion investment in cultural, educational, and recreational facilities across the state.
As the 30th and 32nd United States Secretary of Agriculture, Vilsack helped expand food and nutrition access through summer feeding programs for children and additional support for fruit and vegetable purchases through the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. He also worked to develop new and superior markets for small and mid-sized farms, helping them to remain viable and in turn, strengthening and growing rural communities—work that continues on a global scale as Chief Executive Officer of the World Food Prize Foundation.
