Dr. Harris serves as the Bioenergy Division Director within USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). He leads the investments in applied research and education related to small business innovation, bioenergy, and biobased products. Harris’ career in academe, government, an industry are dedicated to food and agriculture. Prior to his joining USDA-NIFA, Dr. Harris served as Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University. Dr. Harris’ scholarly research spotlight how organizations that collaborate strategically experience a marked increase in competitiveness and sustain performance. Dr. Harris’ professional experiences include a 20-year industry career with increasing accountability managing agricultural commodity trading, supply chain management strategies, and global purchasing with multi-national food companies. Harris served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras, C.A. as an agribusiness advisor where he worked to market tropical agricultural cash crops for rural communities.