A few weeks ago Frank Yiannas, Deputy Commissioner for Food, Policy and Response at the FDA, announced that he would be leaving at the end of February. While we were not exactly counterparts in terms of titles when I served at USDA, functionally we served in similar roles. While I was responsible for oversight of meat, poultry, and processed eggs, he was responsible for “all other” foods. We fought the good fight together through many challenges.

Together, with the guidance of Secretary Perdue, we were responsible for ensuring that the food supply chain stayed intact in the early days of COVID. I remember signing a MOU with Frank on my 50^th birthday solidifying this relationship to work together to ensure food security for the citizens of the United States. Neither of us would have ever dreamed when we took on these roles that we would face the possibility of food shortages in our country. We navigated many other food safety issues including leafy green outbreaks, PFAS, labelling issues and, of course, the two of us signed the document for joint oversight of USDA and FDA to share responsibility for inspection of cell-based proteins.

On most issues we stood in lock-step and we both committed to make science-based and data-driven decisions in a world that is often driven by lobbyists and politics. I was honored to work with him. I have had the opportunity to visit with Frank in the past few days, but I wanted to publicly thank him for his service in this blog by sharing some words of advice for his transition!

Dear Frank,

There are many things you will miss about the government life! First of all, you will miss the amazing, dedicated government employees. As you know, the government employees includes many brilliant scientists and other specialists who have dedicated their life to serving the country. They are humble and dedicated, and that readily available resource will be missed. You will also miss the government “structure” which is very brilliant in that it optimizes the time management for the leadership. No longer having a chief-of-staff, a confidential personal assistant, and speech writers will leave a gap. The days of your email being limited to only certain individuals will be gone and once again, you will be vetting 100s of emails each day instead of only a few. You will have to decide on your own where to go and what to say, but that carries benefits and challenges!

Keep in mind that with all change comes opportunity. Yours will be vast given your experience and expertise. While you will miss many things, there are others that you will be happy to leave behind! You now have your freedom to speak your mind. It will take a while to transition out of the more scripted public appearances, but remember that you have much to give back to the food industry. Bring what you have learned not only in the government role, but also in your industry roles together to offer insight and guidance to those around you. Also, eventually you will not miss living in crisis mode every day. This takes a little time. The days of waiting for the next call or text informing you of the next crisis will be limited. As you know, there was no way to schedule a “typical” day and there was no time when people couldn’t find you. You will have your own lists, but for me, these are the big ones!

In closing, as you transition to your new role(s), remember that you have experienced things that no one else has ever experienced. You have much to give back and we are happy to have you back to directly give your wisdom to our food industry. Your future is bright, my friend, and I can’t wait to work with you on the other side!

Sincerely, Mindy

Dear Frank

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