The USA Rice Federation (USA Rice) has appointed Gail R. Carlson as food aid director. Carlson joined USA Rice in December, bringing more than 30 years of international development and food aid experience to the rice industry.

Most recently, Carlson was with Counterpart International, a non-governmental organization that focuses on international development, where one of her 2002 projects involved the monetization of U.S. rice in Senegal. While there, Carlson also started and then led the food security division, which used U.S. food aid programs to improve the food security status of poor communities around the world.

Carlson has a bachelor's from the University of Maryland. She is located in USA Rice's Arlington, Va., office.

Her career has included work at the U.S. Agency for International Development.