WASHINGTON — The US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced changes to its leadership on Nov. 21. Denise Eblen has been promoted to agency administrator, and Paul Kiecker was appointed assistant administrator in the Office of Investigation, Enforcement and Audit, effective Dec. 9.

Overall, Eblen has spent 25 years with USDA, and, in her new role, she will continue to steer FSIS in its efforts to use science-based decision-making to modernize the agency’s inspection strategies, policies and approaches to improve public health. Since 2018, Eblen has served as assistant administrator for the Office of Public Health Science, leading scientific analysis, including oversight of FSIS laboratories and testing regulatory samples, risk assessment, and outbreak investigation and response. Before that, she held roles with USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Service.

Eblen earned a bachelor’s degree in human nutrition from the University of Ulster at Coleraine in Northern Ireland, a master’s degree in food science from Queen’s University Belfast and a Ph.D. in food safety microbiology from the University of Ulster at Jordanstown, Northern Ireland.

Also stepping into a new role is Kiecker, who has been with FSIS for more than 30 years. In 1988, Kiecker joined the agency as food inspector. Previously, he held roles across the Office of Field Operations and as a compliance investigator and supervisory compliance investigator with the Office of Investigation, Enforcement and Audit. In 2020, Kiecker was named administrator of FSIS, replacing Carmen Rottenberg. In his new role as assistant administrator, Kiecker will apply his agency experience and leadership abilities to lead FSIS’s investigation, enforcement and audit functions.

“Each of these leaders brings a wealth of experience with FSIS, expertise in different aspects of the agency’s mission, and a personal commitment to protecting public health by ensuring a safe food supply,” said Emilio Esteban, USDA undersecretary for food safety. “I am honored to work alongside them, and I look forward to seeing the path they will chart forward to advance food safety in the days and years to come.”