Basil Gooden, Megan Seibel, and Lindsay Reames are all Virginia Tech alumni and are leaders of the state’s agriculture and forestry efforts.

Though the Virginia state flag is blue, there is a lot of maroon and orange in the state capital these days.

Two alumnae from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are serving in state government as the deputy secretary and assistant secretary of agriculture and forestry— under Basil Gooden, the secretary of agriculture and forestry, who is also a Virginia Tech alumnus.

Megan Seibel, the inaugural director of the Virginia Agriculture Leaders Obtaining Results (VALOR) program at Virginia Tech, was named Virginia’s deputy secretary of agriculture and forestry. Seibel was recently promoted from her position of assistant secretary. She earned a Ph.D. in agricultural and extension education in 2012 and an M.S. in career and technical education in 2007, both from Virginia Tech.

Lindsay Reames, who was the manager of animal care and sustainability for Maryland and Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association, was named the assistant secretary in June. Reames earned a B.S. in agricultural and applied economics from the college in 2004 and a master’s in public administration from the university in 2006.

Gooden earned his B.A. in political science at Virginia Tech 1988 before earning his master’s and Ph.D. at other universities.

“This is such a great team to work with,” said Gooden. “We are using our combined experience and knowledge to make a positive impact on the state and helping build the economy that is driven by our agriculture and forestry industries.”

“It’s also nice that we all cheer for the same college football team,” he added.