Pushpa Kathir

Pushpa Kathir is a Biological Science Specialist currently employed at the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture since December 2022. Prior to this, Pushpa served as a Marketing Specialist at the Agricultural Marketing Service from October 2019 to December 2022, focusing on Marketing Order Programs and federal documentation. Pushpa has extensive experience in program administration within federal government settings, notably as the coordinator for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, which had a significant funding allocation in Fiscal Year 2019. Earlier roles include adjunct faculty at Northern Virginia Community College, teaching biology courses, and an assistant research scientist at the University of Minnesota, specializing in genome mapping of Chlamydomonas. Pushpa holds a Master of Science in Genetics from Texas A&M University and a Bachelor of Science in Botany from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.