Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small

Xochitl Torres Small was confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture on July 11, 2023. She is the first Latina to hold this position.

Prior to her confirmation as Deputy Secretary, Torres Small served as Under Secretary for Rural Development. In this role, she oversaw loans and grants to provide infrastructure improvements; business development; affordable housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, Tribal, and high-poverty areas. During her leadership, USDA Rural Development secured $2 billion to support rural broadband through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Prior to joining USDA, Torres Small was a United States Representative for the fifth largest district in the country. As Representative, Torres Small served as a member of the House Agriculture Committee, the House Armed Services Committee and as chairwoman of the Oversight, Management, and Accountability subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee. Torres Small was the first woman and first person of color to represent New Mexico’s second congressional district.

The granddaughter of farmworkers, Torres Small grew up in the borderlands of New Mexico. She has worked as a field representative for Senator Tom Udall, a clerk for United States District Court Judge Robert C. Brack, and an attorney practicing water and natural resources law. Torres Small has a law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law, an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and an international baccalaureate from Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa. She’s married to New Mexico State Representative Nathan Small.

 

Keynote Speaker: Randi Braun

Randi Braun is the Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Something Major: The New Playbook for Women at Work. A member of the Forbes Coaches Council, Braun is the CEO & Founder of the women's leadership firm, Something Major, a highly regarded speaker, and an ICF-certified executive coach who has worked with 50+ organizations including Microsoft, Uber, Virgin, Accor Hotels, and Cox Communications, among others.

An expert at helping high-performing women thrive in demanding roles, her insights on women's leadership have been featured in The Washington Post, Forbes, Thrive Global, Parents Magazine, and The Chicago Tribune. Randi coaches, leads retreats, and, when she's not traveling to attend events like ours, Randi lives in Washington, DC with her spouse and two children.

 

Isabella Chism

Isabella Chism of Howard County, Indiana, has chaired the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Women’s Leadership Committee since 2021. Prior to that she served two terms as vice chair and served for a total of nine years as the Midwest Region Representative, being first elected to the AFBWLC in 2008. As a representative of AFBWLC, she serves on the AFBF board of directors and on the AFB Foundation for Agriculture board of directors. She also serves on the board of the Agriculture Council of America.

Chism has been heavily involved in her community, church and Farm Bureau. She is currently executive director of Howard County 4-H exhibit association capital projects and an at-large representative on the North Central Indiana Regional Planning Council. She also is a member of the Regional Leadership Institute steering committee.

She is a graduate of the Richard G. Lugar Excellence in Public Service Series and of the Syngenta Leadership at Its Best program. Chism also has completed “Conversation Leaders” training through the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance.

In 2021, she was the winner of the Purdue Extension Women in Agriculture Achievement Award, which recognizes Indiana women who are leaders and innovators who have contributed to the success of Indiana agriculture. In 2023, she was the recipient of the 2023 Architect of Society Award, which is presented by the Women’s Public Leadership Network, a national non-partisan non-profit that equips and encourages women to seek public office.

She and her husband, Kent, farm in Howard County with their daughter and son-in-law, raising corn, soybeans and sweet corn. They have three grown children.

 

 

President Zippy Duvall

Zippy Duvall has served as president of the American Farm Bureau Federation since 2016. He is a third-generation farmer from Georgia. He and his son operate a beef cow herd, raise broiler chickens, and grow their own hay, all while continuing to restore the farmland that has been in the family for more than 90 years.

Through his leadership as AFBF president, Duvall helped to shape the 2018 farm bill and is working to ensure the 2023 farm bill effectively supports farmers and ranchers. He has helped defeat misguided regulations, shepherd new trade agreements, and make certain farmers and ranchers are supported through natural disasters and the ongoing impacts of supply chain disruptions and inflationary pressures.

Duvall was honored by the National 4-H Council as a founding luminary, a group of influential 4-H alumni. Prior to being elected AFBF president, he was president of the Georgia Farm Bureau and served on the AFBF board of directors. In 1987, he also served on the AFBF board as Young Farmer Committee chair.

Duvall and his wife, Jennifer, were married in December 2021. Both lost their first spouses to illnesses. They have six children and eight grandchildren.