President of The Russell Group and past Chairman of the Board, World Food Program USA
Randy Russell was born and raised in Virginia. Prior to joining the firm in 1986, Randy served in a number of agricultural policy positions, both inside and outside of government, including Chief of Staff for Secretary of Agriculture John R. Block, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economics at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Vice President for Agriculture and Trade Policy at the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, Director of Government Relations for The Pillsbury Company, and the 1981 Farm Bill Coordinator for USDA. Randy also served on the Senate Agriculture Committee staff for former Senator Rudy Boschwitz (R-MN).
Randy attended George Mason University where he did both his undergraduate studies in Public Administration and graduate studies in Economics. He is a proud member of GMU’s baseball team, where he played catcher.
Randy currently serves as Chairman of the Board and is on the Executive Committee for the World Food Program USA, which raises awareness and funding to fight hunger around the world. The World Food Program was recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its work addressing global hunger. He has also been actively involved in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Program in Northern Virginia. He was a Big Brother for ten years and was named President, Vice President and Treasurer of the Northern Virginia Council of Big Brothers/Big Sisters and served on the Board of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the National Capital Area. Randy is also on the Board of Governors of the Bryce Harlow Foundation, encouraging the highest standards for professional lobbying and government affairs, and has and continues to serve as a mentor for fellowship recipients interested in going into advocacy.
Randy and his wife, Beth, live in McLean, VA, and have six children. The Russells are co-founders of The Golden Phoenix Foundation, working to address the issue of childhood abandonment around the world. He and Beth are also active members of the National Council for Adoption, which helps promote domestic and foreign adoptions as well as foster care.
Randy and Beth have a small farm in Round Hill, VA where they raise alpacas, as well as an assortment of other animals.