About Andrew Lentz headshot

Andrew Lentz

Director of Federal Affairs, Agriculture Policy

Contact

Washington, D.C. Office

Work

Areas of expertise:

Agriculture and food policy, climate-smart agriculture, diversity, equity and inclusion, government relations, political strategy, international diplomacy, coalition building

Andrew is director of federal affairs for agriculture policy at EDF, where he focuses on policy implementation in the U.S. legislative and executive branches. Through coalition building and direct advocacy, he builds understanding of the key issues impacting agriculture and the environment, and seeks to reach bipartisan consensus on solutions to the most pressing challenges facing our food supply and our climate. He is passionate about making progress on global climate goals, while remaining inclusive of rural and underserved communities who acutely feel the detrimental impacts of climate change.

Background

Andrew has extensive experience in Washington, DC. Most recently, he served as the policy director for the Ecosystem Services Market Consortium, where he led the organization’s engagement with federal and state policymakers to help them better understand complex environmental markets and policies that could impact markets’ viability. He founded and led the ESMC Policy Committee, which included policy professionals from ESMC member organizations, and served as co-lead for the Working Group on Inclusion and Racial Justice, which sought to identify and reduce barriers to equity within ESMC’s program and in the agriculture sector more broadly.

Prior to his time at ESMC, Andrew held roles with USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service, Reps. Jay Inslee and Mike Quigley, and Deloitte. He was born and raised in downtown Chicago and spent much of his childhood with family in Iowa and Ohio.

Education

MBA, Johns Hopkins University

MA in Government, Johns Hopkins University

BA in Political Science, Villanova University