Basil Gooden, Date of Birth, Place of Birth

Basil Gooden

Date of Birth: 14-Sep-1964

Place of Birth: Charlottesville, Virginia, United States

Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Basil Ivanhoe Gooden is an American politician who served as the 3rd Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry under Governor Terry McAuliffe.
He became the first African-American to serve in this position and during his tenure from September 2016 until January 2018, he was the only black Secretary of Agriculture in any state in the United States.
In his capacity as Secretary, he worked to support Governor McAuliffe's mission of building a new Virginia economy in agriculture and forestry, two of Virginia's largest private industries with an annual economic impact of $91 billion on the Commonwealth.Prior to serving as Secretary, Gooden was appointed by then President Barack Obama to serve as the state director for USDA – Rural Development in Virginia.
In that position, he served as the chief executive officer of this federal agency that allocated approximately $1.25 billion annually to improve the economy and quality of life in rural Virginians. Gooden served for twelve years as the Chief Deputy Director of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) in the administrations of four Virginia governors.
He was initially appointed to this position by Governor Mark R.
Warner and subsequently re-appointed and served in the administrations of Governors Timothy M.
Kaine (D), Robert F.
McDonnell (R), and Terry McAuliffe (D).