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Curtis M. Anderson

Vice President & General Counsel

Curtis Anderson joined MELE Associates, Inc., on February 2, 2009 as Vice President and General Counsel.  His portfolio includes activities at the Departments of Energy and Commerce, including nuclear safety, renewable energy and telecommunications.

Curtis Anderson was appointed by President George W. Bush as Deputy Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) at the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on May 6, 2002, where he served until joining MELE Associates, inc.  He served as Acting Administrator from February 7, 2005 until November 17, 2005.

Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Curtis lived in Asia, the Middle East and Europe until attending high school in Houston, Texas.  Curtis went on to the University of Pennsylvania to get two bachelors' degrees - a B.S. in Accounting (Wharton School of Finance and Commerce) and a B.A. in Economics (Faculty of Arts and Sciences).

Curtis graduated from the University of Southern California School of Law with a J.D. in 1982, and moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma to work for the law firm of Huffman Arrington Kihle Gaberino & Dunn handling major litigation, legislative and corporate issues for various companies including gas utility, interstate gas pipeline, cellular and auditing clients.  In 1988, Curtis joined the Solicitor's office of the U.S. Department of Interior handling a multitude of issues including the Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act, Merit Systems Protection Board, ethics and appropriations.

In 1990, Curtis was appointed Secretary to the Board of the Farm Credit Administration by President George H.W. Bush.  He served as Secretary to the Board of both the Farm Credit Administration and the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation until the end of 1994 at which time he went to Capitol Hill to work for the Honorable Barbara Vucanovich of Nevada until joining the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) in June of 1995.  As Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel, and Assistant Secretary-Treasurer of NASDA, Curtis was responsible for all financial, administrative, human resource, and legal issues affecting a national association representing the highest ranking agriculture official in each of the fifty states and four territories employing, at times, in excess of 3,700 people in 49 states, with a budget in excess of $25 million.  He worked closely with USDA officials at the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Foreign Agricultural Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Agricultural Marketing Service, and the Natural Resources Conservation Services, as well as the staffs of the Commissioners, Secretaries and Directors of agriculture in each of the states and territories.

Curtis lives in Falls Church, Virginia, with his wife, Margaret Cummisky, their two boys, Daniel and Julian, and his mother-in-law Yoshie Cummisky.