USDA’s Chad Sheridan leaving government

Chad Sheridan is preparing to leave government and take a role in the private sector.

Sheridan will be departing from his role at the U.S. Department of Agriculture at the end of January, the agency confirmed to FedScoop. This brings an end to Sheridan’s 2more than 25 years in government, both at USDA and in the Navy.

Sheridan told FedScoop that it feels “bittersweet” to leave USDA but that he’s excited to take on a cross-agency perspective in his next role.

Sheridan most recently served as the chief of service delivery and operations at USDA’s Farm Production and Conservation Business Center. Previously he was the CIO at USDA’s Risk Management Agency until Secretary Sonny Perdue reorganized the agency’s disparate and siloed CIO structure under one central CIO in October 2018. Since then he’s been working to “move the needle” on key customer-focused initiatives like the Farmers.gov portal.

When it comes to creating an enterprisewide resource in government, Sheridan advised that inertia is the primary force that agencies need to overcome. “You’re going to have to learn by doing,” he said. “Try, bump your head, learn, move on.”

Sheridan will join NetImpact Strategies as chief innovation officer in mid-February.