Stephen Lee Censky is an American businessman and former government official. He served as the United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture from 2017 through 2020. In November 2020, he became the CEO of the

American Soybean Association The American Soybean Association (ASA) is an association of 21,000 American soybean producers. John Heisdorffer is the 2018 President of the Association. Stephen Censky worked for ASA for 23 years, 21 of those as CEO, and then left to become Uni ...

(ASA). He was also CEO of the ASA for 21 years prior to his tenure as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture.

Early life and education

Censky was raised on a soybean and corn farm near

Jackson, Minnesota Jackson is a city and county seat of Jackson County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,299 at the 2010 census. History Jackson was originally called Springfield, and under the latter name was laid out in 1856. A post office calle ...

and received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in agriculture from

South Dakota State University South Dakota State University is a public land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest and most comprehensive university and the oldest continually-operating university in South Dakota. The ...

. He won the

Truman Scholarship The Harry S. Truman Scholarship is the premier graduate fellowship in the United States for public service leadership. It is a federally funded scholarship granted to U.S. undergraduate students for demonstrated leadership potential, academic ...

while at South Dakota State University in 1980, the first winner in the school's history. He later went on to earn a postgraduate diploma in agriculture science from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

Career

Censky served as a legislative assistant to

United States Senator 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 powe ...

James Abdnor Ellis James Abdnor (February 13, 1923 – May 16, 2012) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States Senate from South Dakota. He was also the 15th Administrator of the Small Business Administration under presidents Rona ...

before holding several appointments in the

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

, eventually rising to become Administrator of the

Foreign Agricultural Service The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) is the foreign affairs agency with primary responsibility for the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) overseas programs – market development, international trade agreements and negotiations, ...

. He went on to work for the American Soybean Association for the next 23 years, including serving as their

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

for 21 of those years. In 2017, he was nominated to the office of United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 3, 2017, by voice vote and was sworn in on October 10, 2017. He returned to the American Soybean Association, serving as chief executive officer, starting on November 9, 2020.

Personal life

Censky is married and has two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Censky, Stephen Living people South Dakota State University alumni Trump administration personnel Heads of the Foreign Agricultural Service United States Deputy Secretaries of Agriculture People from Jackson, Minnesota Year of birth missing (living people)