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Vernon B. Parker
Chairman |
Mr. Parker owns and operates the VBP Group of Paradise Valley, Arizona.
Mr. Parker formerly served as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights,
Department of Agriculture.
Prior to this appointment, Mr. Parker was a successful attorney and active
citizen, involved in community work and volunteerism. He has served as
the interim senior pastor in his church and with the Salvation Army on
its National Board of Directors and on the Greater Phoenix Salvation Army
Advisory Board. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Christian
Family Care Agency and as a member of Arizona State University's Board
of Community Alliance for Black Student Support. His career in administrative
law and Equal Employment Opportunity issues, combined with his passion
for improving society by bringing different interests together, well prepared
him for his service at USDA.
In 1988, after receiving his B.S. degree in finance from California State University,
Parker received his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center. While there,
he served as editor-in-chief of the Georgetown American Criminal Law Review.
Parker took his first position in the federal government as counselor to the
director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). He was simultaneously the
director of policy for OPM.
Two years into his career with OPM, he was appointed general counsel. As such,
Parker worked with and familiarized himself with every branch of the federal
government. He implemented policies on various administrative issues ranging
from civil rights, to federal employees' health care, to government contract
and procurement issues.
In 1992, Parker accepted an opportunity to serve in the White House as special
assistant to the President. Here, he was responsible for the staffing and policy
review of over 300 Presidential boards and commissions, including, but not limited
to, the African Development Foundation, the President's Commission on Small Business,
the United States Trade Representative Board on International Trade, the President's
Export Council, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. |
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