As a lifelong literacy advocate, Burton has dedicated decades to encouraging children to read. In 2017, long-standing literacy nonprofit Reading is Fundamental acquired Burton’s Skybrary reading app in order to provide access to more children. Burton has also partnered with Osmo’s Reading Adventure, Fable and Masterclass to encourage reading and share the power of storytelling.

Burton is the award-winning author of Aftermath, The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm and A Kids Book About Imagination. And, in 2023, Burton premiered a documentary, The Right to Read, which positions the literacy crisis in America as a civil rights issue. Most recently, Burton launched LeVar Burton Entertainment (LBE) with a mission to create content that fosters empathy, champions diversity and builds community.

Burton is an honored recipient of six NAACP Awards, a Peabody, a Grammy and 15 Emmys, including a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Inaugural Children’s & Family Emmys.

In her rural Appalachian community, Testerman builds bridges between cultures through a curriculum focused on a study of Americans from diverse backgrounds. She knows families are extensions of the classroom and often advocates for her families who speak little English. Testerman considers her greatest contribution to her profession to be the love and desire for learning that she has instilled in countless students over the past three decades.

Testerman holds a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education and a Master of Arts in reading education from East Tennessee State University. She added ESL licensure through Freed-Hardeman University, wanting to ensure that immigrant students and families had an advocate in their rural Appalachian area. Testerman lives with her husband David in Rogersville, where they both grew up and raised their children Andrew and Caroline. 

Under Secretary Vilsack’s leadership, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is Investing in America by restoring the American economy, strengthening rural and historically underserved communities, responding to threats of climate change, creating good-paying jobs for American workers and the next generation of agricultural leaders, and investing in our kids and our families.

Secretary Vilsack is spearheading a transformation of the food system by creating more, better, and fairer markets and ensuring that the food system of today and the future is more resilient and more competitive globally. It will also offer consumers affordable, nutritious food grown closer to home.

From excessive drought to more extreme fires, our producers, farmers and ranchers are on the frontlines confronting the challenges associated with climate change. USDA is engaging the agriculture and forestry sectors in voluntary, incentive-based climate solutions to improve the resiliency of producers and to build wealth that stays in rural communities. Additionally, USDA is advancing investments in science and research to offer producers a toolbox to adapt to and mitigate climate change.

Secretary Vilsack continues to take bold, historic action to reduce barriers to access for historically underserved communities. By working to ensure all aspects of civil rights and equity are integrated, USDA is rooting out generations of systemic racism and building systems and programs inclusive of all USDA employees and customers.

Secretary Vilsack is also focused on ensuring Americans have consistent access to safe, healthy, and affordable food. USDA is investing in bold solutions that enhance food safety, improve the various far-reaching and powerful nutrition programs in the Department, and reduce food and nutrition insecurity in America.