Kelli Evans serves as Senior Advisor for Field Operations for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Most recently, Kelli served as Chief Executive Officer of Evans Ag Consulting. Kelli has been an active leader in California agriculture with over 17 years of serving on numerous agricultural boards including the Almond Board of California and Yuba-Sutter Farm Bureau. Kelli is a third-generation almond and rice farmer from northern California.

Janice Kolvet was appointed Chief of Staff for Field Operations for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in December 2025.  In this role, she coordinates and supports NRCS' Assistant Chiefs, Deputy Assistant Chiefs, and State Conservationists and disaster response programs. Previously, she served as the State Executive Director for the USDA Farm Service Agency in Nevada. Born and raised in Reno, Kolvet has a background in cattle ranching in Elko, Nevada. With over 25 years in federal service, she has held various positions with USDA FSA across Nevada, California, and Washington, D.C., including managing farm program delivery and overseeing national farm policy related to disaster assistance.

Hans D. Hunt, was recently appointed Assistant Chief for the Western Region at the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services.  Hunt was raised on a cattle ranch in northeast Wyoming and participated in 4-H and FFA activities. He served six terms in the Wyoming State House of Representatives, including roles as House Majority Whip and chair of the House Agriculture Committee, before working for Senator Cynthia Lummis on agriculture, forestry, and trade policy. In early 2025, he joined the USDA as a senior legislative advisor and later became Assistant Chief for the Western Region, based in Fort Collins, Colorado. He holds a bachelor's degree in agricultural business from the University of Wyoming and a master's in international agriculture from Oklahoma State University.  He and his wife are pleased to be back in the West.
 

Kennon A. White was appointed Assistant Chief of the South Region for the Natural Resource Conservation Service by the Trump-Vance Administration on December 1, 2025, where he will collaborate with farmers, ranchers, and private forestry landholders. A Georgia native and Vietnam veteran, White has experience in cow-calf operations, served in the Marine Corps, worked for Mack Trucks until 2015, held public office twice, and contributed extensively to wildlife and habitat protection through volunteer service. He holds a Bachelor's in Business Administration, a Master's in Higher Education, and an MBA from Appalachian State University, where he also taught leadership and ethics for six years. With decades of conservation experience, White recently led the Resource Institute, completing over 260 projects and restoring hundreds of miles of streams, and resides in North Carolina with his family.

Walt Whitcomb serves as the Assistant Chief for the North for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Walt is part of a family-owned dairy farm 6 miles inland from the Maine coastline. His daughters operate the 140 cow Jersey and Guernsey milking herd as well producing hard and soft cheeses and meat products sold by mail order in addition to regional natural food outlets.  Previously he was Northeast Regional Coordinator for the USDA Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) mission area providing leadership support to USDA staff in 13 states. In 2011 Whitcomb was sworn in as Maine's Commissioner of Agriculture where he helped guide the consolidation of Maine's agricultural, forestry, state parks, public lands, and other natural resource related functions into the present Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry cabinet level department.  He served 12 years in the Maine legislature and has been a Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor, Farm Bureau and Dairy Association officer and chauffer of calves to many 4-H dairy shows. Nancy and Walt have three children and four grandsons.

Jimmy Emmons serves as Assistant Chief for the Central Region for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. He and his wife, Ginger, own and operate Emmons Farms in Leedey, Oklahoma. They manage 1,500 acres of farmland and 4,000 acres of rangeland, where they raise 300 head of cows and calves as well as soybeans, corn, grain sorghum, sesame, cereal rye, cowpeas, canola, and winter wheat. Their integrated row-crop and livestock operation optimizes water resources, reduces erosion, and enhances soil organic matter. On May 19th, 2025 Jimmy was sworn in as an Assistant Chief for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) where he works to promote common sense conservation policy.