Breakout Session I
Putting "BioPreferred" Into Action
Irene Xiarchos
Irene Xiarchos is a natural resource and environmental economist at the Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, within the Office of the Chief Economist of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Xiarchos primarily works in the area of biobased products. She has been involved in implementing Section 9002 of the 2002 Farm Bill, which provides for preferred procurement of biobased products by Federal agencies and authorizes the set up of a labeling program for biobased products. She tends to the study of the biobased economy and also examines public instruments for supporting innovation and the transition from invention to the marketplace.
Irene Xiarchos previously researched public choice of environmental policies, environmental markets, voluntary environmental behavior, public disclosure programs, voluntary programs and labeling programs. She holds a B.S. degree in economics from the Athens University of Economics and Business, an M.S. in agricultural and natural resource economics and a Ph.D. in natural resource economics from West Virginia University.
Boyd K. Rutherford
Boyd K. Rutherford was nominated by President George W. Bush to the position of Assistant Secretary for Administration to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on January 17, 2006. He was confirmed, by unanimous consent, by the United States Senate on May 12, 2006. As Assistant Secretary he serves as the Department’s: Chief Acquisition Officer, Chief Human Capital Officer, the Senior Energy and Environmental Officer and Chair of the USDA Sustainable Operations Council, and directs the Department’s emergency operations center and related emergency management functions. Prior to serving USDA, Boyd served Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. as Secretary of the Maryland Department of General Services (DGS). From January, 2003 to June, 2006, Mr. Rutherford was responsible for more than $900 million in annual contract administration and 5.7 million square-feet of State-owned facilities and served as Construction Advisor to the Board of Public Works. He was a member the General Professional Services Selection Board, the Information Technology Board, the Procurement Advisory Council, the Maryland Food Center Authority, and the Interagency Committee for Public School Construction. Mr. Rutherford came to DGS from the U. S. General Services Administration (GSA). In President George W. Bush’s first term, he appointed Mr. Rutherford to the position of Associate Administrator of GSA. At GSA, Mr. Rutherford wore dual hats as Associate Administrator for Small Business Utilization and Associate Administrator for Performance Improvement. Mr. Rutherford has extensive legal and business experience including service in the fields of information technology sales, law, and small and minority business development. He graduated from Howard University with a bachelor's degree in economics and political science. He holds a law degree and a master's degree in communications management from the University of Southern California. Mr. Rutherford is a member of the State Bars of California, Maryland, and the District of Columbia bar. He has practiced law in Southern California, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. The primary focus of his practice was regulatory law and litigation, including advising companies and non-profits on federal and state Brownfields legislation. Mr. Rutherford previously served on the Baltimore City Brownfields Redevelopment Council and on the Board of the Corridor Transportation Corporation.
Mr. Rutherford resides in Columbia, Maryland with his wife and two of his three children. He and his wife have an adult child living in Southern California.
Brendan Jordan
Brendan Jordan is the Program Manager for Biomass Programs at the Great Plains Institute. The Great
Plains Institute is a regional non-profit corporation based in Minneapolis that primarily serves the states of
Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and the province of Manitoba. The Institute brings together
key public and private leaders from across the Midwest to identify and implement policies, technology
demonstrations and research that will accelerate the transition to a renewable and low-carbon energy system by
mid-century. Jordan manages programs which focus on the development of biomass as a resource for creating value added energy
and products to displace fossil fuels, stimulate rural economic development, make improvements to air, soil, and
water quality, and address global warming. Jordan helps staff the newly formed North Central Bioeconomy
Consortium, a partnership between state Departments of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension, and Land Grant
Agricultural Experiment Stations in 12 Midwestern states. He has also staffed the Biomass Working Group, a
55+ member stakeholder group from the Upper Midwest whose policy recommendations for advanced biomass
technologies informed legislation in several states for the 2007 legislative sessions. Jordan worked on the
Institute’s U.S. Department of Energy-funded native grass energy research – a collaborative research
project involving SDSU, UND-EERC, and the University of Minnesota.
