Alexis Taylor is an American agricultural policy advisor who is serving as under secretary of agriculture for trade and foreign agricultural affairs since December 2022. She formerly served as director of the

Oregon Department of Agriculture The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) is responsible for agriculture in Oregon. This agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon promotes and regulates food production and safety. It is headed by the director of agriculture, appoin ...

from 2017 to 2022.

Early life and education

Taylor was born and raised in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and communication studies from

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

Career

Taylor served in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed F ...

from 1998 to 2006. She was deployed to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

in 2003 and 2004. Taylor joined the office of Congressman

Leonard Boswell Leonard Leroy Boswell (January 10, 1934 – August 17, 2018) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1997 to 2013, a district based in Des Moines. A member of the Democratic Party, he was defeated for reelectio ...

as a legislative assistant. She later served as his legislative director. From 2010 to 2013, she served as a legislative assistant for Senator

Max Baucus Maxwell Sieben Baucus ( Enke; born December 11, 1941) is an American politician who served as a United States senator from Montana from 1978 to 2014. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a U.S. senator for over 35 years, making him the longe ...

. Taylor then joined the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

, serving as chief of staff for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services at USDA, deputy undersecretary of the Foreign Agricultural Service, and delegated the duties of the under secretary of the Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services. In January 2017, she became director of the

. She resigned effective September 30, 2022. In May 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Taylor to be the under secretary of agriculture for trade and foreign agricultural affairs. Her nomination was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on December 21, 2022. She was sworn in on December 29, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Alexis Living people People from Iowa Iowa State University alumni United States Department of Agriculture officials Obama administration personnel Biden administration personnel Year of birth missing (living people)