Stephen Censky

Censky was raised on a soybean and corn farm near Jackson, Minnesota and received a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture from South Dakota State University.[3] He won the Truman Scholarship while at South Dakota State University in 1980, the first winner in the school's history. He later went on to earn a postgraduate diploma in agriculture science from the University of Melbourne.[3]

Censky served as a legislative assistant to United States Senator James Abdnor before holding several appointments in the United States Department of Agriculture, eventually rising to become Administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service.[3] He went on to serve as chief executive officer of the American Soybean Association, a position he held for 21 years.[4] In 2017, he was nominated to the office of United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture.[4] He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 3, 2017, by voice vote and was sworn in on October 11, 2017.

Censky is married and has two daughters.[3]