Ted McKinney serves as Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), a position he has held since September 2021. NASDA represents the commissioners, secretaries, and directors of agriculture in all 50 states and U.S. territories, advancing American agriculture through policy, partnerships, and public engagement.Prior to joining NASDA, McKinney served as the first Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from 2017 to 2021. In this role, he led the development and implementation of U.S. agricultural trade policy, expanded market access, and promoted global opportunities for American producers. He also oversaw U.S. Codex Alimentarius activities and supported high-level international negotiations and trade engagements.Earlier in his career, McKinney was appointed by then-Governor Mike Pence as Director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, where he served from 2014 to 2017. He also spent more than three decades in the private sector, including leadership roles with Dow AgroSciences and Elanco, focusing on government affairs, public policy, and global corporate strategy.Raised on a family farm in Tipton, Indiana, McKinney earned a B.S. in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University. He and his wife, Julie, have three children and seven grandchildren and reside in Alexandria, Virginia.