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State Contact Information

## Scott Soares

### State Director for Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island

Scott J. Soares is the owner of Boston Bay Consulting. Drawing on over 25 years of experience, he offers a broad range of government relations services, business and project development assistance, and organizational management support to those working in aquaculture, agriculture, fisheries, and food systems. Soares was appointed by President Obama to serve as USDA Rural Development State Director for Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island where he oversaw staff and program delivery for a suite of over 50 programs that were aimed at improving economic prosperity for Southern New England’s rural communities. Through his work as Executive Director of the U.S. Cranberry Marketing Committee (CMC), Soares worked with the cranberry industry across the United States, led a redesign and implementation of new processes and data collection services for CMC, and propelled marketing initiatives in Europe, Asia, and South and Central America. Soares began his career at the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources where he held a variety of leadership positions including the Commonwealth’s first Aquaculture Program Director and culminating with a gubernatorial appointment as Commissioner of the Department in 2009.

Soares received a double major in Biology and Marine Biology from The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and completed course work in aquaculture and fisheries at University of Rhode Island. Soares is also a proud veteran of the United States Army where he served as an Airborne Field Artillery Surveyor and the Massachusetts Army National Guard.