Chief Executive Officer

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Biographical Information

Dana Peterson assumed leadership of the National Association of Wheat Growers as chief executive officer on Jan. 20, 2010.

As the Association’s chief staff officer, Peterson is responsible for implementing policy created by the NAWG Board of Directors and directing advocacy before Congress and federal agencies on topics ranging from federal farm policy to environmental regulation, biotechnology, transportation and taxes. Peterson is also responsible for all managerial aspects of the organization, as well as the activities of its affiliated nonprofit foundation and political action committee and management of a building on Capitol Hill owned by the NAWG Foundation.

Peterson came to NAWG from Kansas Wheat, where she worked on policy and membership for almost nine years. Before coming to Kansas Wheat, Peterson spent a short time on the staff of the Kansas Farm Bureau working on environmental programs.

As producer policy specialist at Kansas Wheat, Peterson has been intimately involved in key issues on the national and state levels for nearly a decade. Her experience includes participation in the last two farm bill debates; the push to increase research funding and give wheat producers access to biotechnology; and the industry’s look at new uses and expanded markets for wheat and wheat byproducts, including cellulosic ethanol.

During her time at Kansas Wheat, Peterson also spent significant time managing federal and state grants for producer risk management education and participating in the budgeting process for a $4 million award from the Kansas Bioscience Authority.

Peterson is a double graduate of Kansas State University, having obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural economics there.

She has been an active member of American Agri-Women through the state affiliate Kansas Agri-Women, which provided her first visits to Capitol Hill, as well as the Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom and the Kansas Agricultural and Rural Leadership program. During college she studied the costs of federal regulation on small and medium-sized meat packing plants after traveling extensively through the Great Plains on the K-State Meats Judging Team.

Peterson was raised on a wheat farm near Smith Center, Kan., where her family produces primarily wheat, grain sorghum and cattle. Her family first homesteaded the ground two of her four brothers now farm in 1871.

Outside of the office, Peterson is active in her church and with her family, and enjoys hobbies like reading, running and gardening.