Kenneth Johnson, RUS Administrator, portrait in Washington, DC on April 26, 2018. USDA photo by Ken Hammond.

Kenneth Johnson

Rural Utilities Service Administrator, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Biography

Ken Johnson joined USDA Rural Development April 16, 2018. Mr. Johnson serves as Administrator for the Rural Utilities Service (RUS).

Prior to joining RUS, Mr. Johnson served as General Manager/CEO of Co-Mo Electric Cooperative and President for Co-Mo Connect in Tipton, MO.

Under Johnson’s leadership, Co-Mo was the first rural electric cooperative to deploy a fiber-to-the-home network to all its members without federal or state funding, providing gigabit internet, video and voice services to nearly 16,000 subscribers.

Previously, Johnson was a director and past president for Central Electric Power Cooperative in Missouri and a director for the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives, where he served on the Executive and Legislative committees.

Johnson was also General Manager for Twin Valleys PPD in Nebraska after beginning his career with the Nebraska Public Power District.

He earned an undergraduate degree from Kearney State College, and is a graduate of the NRECA Robert I. Kabat Management Internship Program.

Ken grew up on a farm near Edgar, NE and has spent his life working and serving rural America. He and his wife cherish spending time with their children and grandchildren.