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Deputy Secretary Mary Ellen Setting
DEPUTY SECRETARY MARY ELLEN SETTING
Governor Martin O'Malley appointed Mary Ellen Setting as deputy secretary for the Maryland Department of Agriculture on December 16, 2009. As deputy secretary, Setting manages the day-to-day operations of the agency to achieve the conservation, promotion, preservation, regulatory, educational and service responsibilities of the department. These activities assure a healthy environment and food supply, fairness in the marketplace and that agriculture will remain a strong economic force in the State. Mary Ellen Setting served as Assistant Secretary of Plant Industries and Pest Management for the agency since January of 2004. As assistant secretary of the Office of Plant Industries and Pest Management, Setting directed six sections: Forest Pest Management, Mosquito Control, Pesticide Regulation, Plant Protection and Weed Management, State Chemist, and Turf and Seed. The office functions primarily as a regulatory body that enforces state and federal laws, regulations and quarantines related to management of pests that affect health of crops, nursery stock and forests. It also provides consumer protection and services by ensuring the quality of commercial agricultural products, turf and seed products and nursery plants and offers educational programs for regulated industries and consumers. Setting joined the department in 1977 with a job conducting the commercial and private applicator certification and training programs and the pesticide technical information dissemination activities. She served as chief of the Pesticide Regulation Section from 1988 until becoming assistant secretary. She has achieved national recognition through her work with a number of professional organizations such as the American Association of Pesticide Control Officials and the Association of Structural Pest Control Regulatory Officials. A Delaware native, Setting has served more than 32 years in state government affairs and professional associations. She graduated cum laude from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture, majoring in Entomology and Applied Ecology. She resides with her family in Anne Arundel County.
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