Basil Ivanhoe Gooden is an American governmental executive whose career has advanced equitable food systems, agriculture policy, public health, and community economic development in rural America.

In his capacity as Secretary, he provided strategic vision and leadership to two of Virginia's largest private industries, Agriculture and Forestry, with an annual economic impact of $91 billion on the Commonwealth.

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.

Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, Secretariat of Technology and James Madison University to host the first-ever Governor's "Smart Farm" Summit on December 12, 2017.

Gooden worked to expand international trade as a key component of increasing economic opportunities in the agriculture and forestry industries in Virginia.

He has met and worked with each member of VDACS' global network of trade representatives from Canada, Mexico and Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, India, China, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

In that position, Gooden 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.

During his tenure at Rural Development, he restructured the agency's workforce, including hiring twenty-six (26) new employees, to improve program delivery, community outreach, and customer service.

During his tenure as state director, USDA-RD invested more than $2.5 billion into housing, community and economic development projects throughout rural Virginia.

Previously, Gooden served as the Chief Deputy Director of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) for twelve years.