UNITED STATES
SENIOR ADVISOR TO THE SECRETARY, USDA
Doug McKalip is in his 28th year of service with the United States Department of Agriculture and serves as a Senior Advisor to the Secretary. In this capacity he helps to develop and shape the policy and regulatory agenda of the Department with a focus on International Trade, National Security, Biotechnology, Research, and Renewable Energy. Mr. McKalip has delivered lectures on science policy and agriculture on five continents around the globe.
Mr. McKalip served as Senior Policy Advisor for Rural Affairs at the White House Domestic Policy Council from 2011 to 2015. At the White House, he provided direct advice and counsel to the President on issues involving farm, ranch, and trade policy. During his tenure, Mr. McKalip laid the framework for the formation of the White House Rural Council, helped coordinate the Administration’s response to the drought of 2012- 2013, and provided policy leadership for the White House on agriculture legislation, including traveling with the President of the United States. Doug also served as a Confidential Assistant to the Secretary of Agriculture from 2009-2011 and Senior Advisor to the Secretary, where he handled all policy issues relating to agriculture biotechnology, coordinated federal policy for the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology & 21st Century Agriculture. He also coordinated initiatives of the White House Rural Council and served as Acting Chief of Staff of USDA. From 2017 to 2021 he served as Senior Advisor in the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (BRS).
Mr. McKalip was the Director of Legislative and Public Affairs for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service from 2001 to 2009. Doug has worked on the development, passage and implementation of four Farm Bills from 1996 to 2014. He received the agency’s Civil Rights award for his work in expanding program opportunities to Tribes. Mr. McKalip also served as a White House Intern from 1994- 1995 and as a Legislative Assistant to the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee in 1992.
Mr. McKalip has a Bachelors Degree from the University of Pittsburgh and Masters Degree from the American University. He is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Executive Fellows Program in 2020. He also completed the California Agriculture Leadership DC Exchange Program in 2018. Mr. McKalip is a Berg Fellow of the Soil and Water Conservation Society.
A native of rural, Northwest Pennsylvania, Mr. McKalip is married and resides with his wife, Debbie in Washington, DC. They have two teenagers — one a rising freshman at the University of Arizona.