Matt HerrickMatt Herrick

Matt Herrick, former communications director and senior advisor to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has joined Washington, D.C.-based public affairs shop Story Partners, where he’s been named senior vice president.

Herrick will now head the Story Partners’ food, agriculture and nutrition practice.

Herrick first joined the USDA during the Bush administration, and initially served as a speechwriter and spokesperson before taking on the roles of press secretary, senior communications coordinator and deputy communications director. He was also press director and spokesman for the U.S. Agency for International Development and a director of media and public relations for Oxfam America. He was a journalist prior to entering the communications field, and held reporter stints at the Naples Daily News and media company Syracuse Newspapers.

Story Partners was founded in 2010 by chair Gloria Dittus, former president and CEO of public affairs shop Dittus Communications. Dittus sold that shop to advisory firm FTI Consulting in 2005.