Climbing the ladder of success never meant walking over people or looking out for self. At least not for Carolyn Cooksie.
“You have to have a work ethic, show up every day and you have to treat people the way you want to be treated,” said Cooksie, associate administrator for operations and management at FSA.
Those words have been a part of Cooksie’s life since childhood. Growing up on a tobacco farm in Kentucky, Cooksie said it was her parents that gave her the morals and work ethic necessary to operate in her personal life. But it was her first job with USDA that gave her those skills in business.
“I thank God I started in a county office,” said Cooksie, who began her career as a GS-1 while a junior in high school working in a co-op program. “I learned that it’s not about having a hidden agenda, it’s about doing your job and doing what’s best for the employees and customers.”
After graduating with a degree in communications and public affairs from Western Kentucky University, she continued her career with Farmers Home Administration — now known as Rural Development — in a Kentucky district office and then moved to the state office where she worked with the multi-family housing program.
Then it was time to move on. “I wanted to stay with USDA, but in order to stay in Kentucky I only had three choices — get an agriculture degree, leave the government or move to Washington, D.C.,” said Cooksie.
She chose the latter and in 1984, after first declining the position, she accepted the job of rural housing loan specialist at USDA headquarters. But that job came with a price.
“I didn’t realize it was so expensive to live here,” said Cooksie, whose position was a GS-5 at the time. “I was poor. I was poor for many years.” In order to supplement her income, Cooksie put her seamstress skills to work and took part time work tailoring for a cleaners on nights and weekends.
By the time she reached a GS-9, she said she was able to quit the part-time job. She continued to move up and by 1996 she was asked to temporarily serve as acting deputy administrator for farm loans. She accepted the position as a temporary assignment, but when offered the position permanently, she was hesitant.
“I was reluctant to take it, but then I thought that there aren’t that many women or black women represented in leadership positions and this is an opportunity,” said Cooksie. She had one stipulation. That the position, which was originally designated as a political position, be designated as a career position. Her request was granted.
“I’ve grown to love this agency,” said Cooksie. “There are few agencies where you can see what your work does for the country. We are a part of why the U.S. has the cheapest, best quality food in the world.”
She left for a short time to serve as acting deputy under secretary for USDA’s Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services during the transition of the Obama administration. She later returned to FSA and was offered the second highest position in the agency as associate administrator for operations and management. Yet once again, she was hesitant to accept it.
“I loved farm loans,” said Cooksie. “This was more administrative work, but I began to look at it as being an opportunity to change some things that bothered me, like the performance appraisal system and staffing issues.” Although it has been a challenge, Cooksie said she is starting to see some progress. Yet that progress may be short lived as she contemplates an early retirement.
This year marks 36 years of service to USDA and although she has gotten her fill of traveling while in the government, she is hoping to buy a house in the Caribbean where she can relax. Of course, she will continue her annual trek home for the infamous Kentucky derby, dubbed by Cooksie as the “one big time Kentucky has a chance to shine.”
And Cooksie hopes her success within FSA has given others an opportunity to shine.
“Most of the recommendations I received for jobs came from people I didn’t even know,” said Cooksie. “It’s how you carry yourself. You cannot act one way in a meeting and then act like a fool in the hallway because you never know who is watching you. You have to be reliable and accountable and show up to work every day. That is the biggest job booster you will ever need.”
