Randy Russell

Randy Russell is a principal in the agricultural lobbying firm Lesher & Russell. Before forming Lesher & Russell, he was employed as the:
 * Chief of Staff for Secretary of Agriculture John R. Block (1985 - 1986)
 * Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economics, U.S. Department of Agriculture (1984)
 * Vice President for Agriculture and Trade Policy, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (1982 - 1984)
 * Director of Government Relations for The Pillsbury Company (1982)
 * 1981 Farm Bill Coordinator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, serving as Assistant to Secretary of Agriculture John R. Block (1981)
 * Agricultural legislative assistant to Senator Rudy Boschwitz (1979 - 1980)
 * Economist for the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (1979)

Russell currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Board for Friends of The World Food Program which raises awareness and funding in order to fight global hunger. He is also a member of the Board of the INOVA Hospital for Children Development Committee where he works directly with INOVA's International Adoption Institute. Randy and his wife, Beth, are co-founders of The Golden Phoenix Foundation which is focused on addressing the issue of childhood abandonment around the world.

Russell recived both an undergraduate degree in public administration and graduate degree in economics from George Mason University.

"Russell was chief of staff to USDA Secretary John Block from 1985 to 1986 before joining Lesher’s firm in 1986," The Hill states in a brief profile of the company.