Ben Conner joined DTB Associates in 2019, after spending a decade at an agricultural trade association and as a staffer in the U.S. Senate. In these roles he focused primarily on agricultural trade policy, including at the World Trade Organization (WTO), free trade agreement negotiations, bilateral market access, and U.S. farm bill legislation.

Prior to joining DTB, Conner was the vice president of policy at U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), where he worked with farmers, USW’s foreign offices, USDA, USTR, and related industry to improve market access by addressing tariffs, trade-restrictive sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and other non-tariff barriers to U.S. wheat exports.

Conner joined USW after serving as the agriculture and trade legislative assistant for U.S. Senator Mike Johanns of Nebraska. During his time in that position, Conner championed the Senator’s priorities for the 2014 farm bill, such as creating the position of Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. He also assisted with the Senator’s push for ratification of free trade agreements and coordinated support for inclusion of Japan in the Trans-Pacific Partnership pending resolution of the BSE-related restrictions on beef from cattle under thirty months.

In 2014, Conner completed a joint Master of Science and Master of Business Administration in food and agribusiness management from Purdue University and Indiana University. He also has a master’s degree in international commerce and policy from George Mason University and was an undergraduate at Miami University in Ohio. Conner lives with his wife and three children in Alexandria, Virginia.