Andrew Lentz, the former Policy Director for the Ecosystem Services Market Consortium (ESMC), is joining the Environmental Defense Fund as a Director of Federal Affairs for agriculture policy. He will lead EDF’s engagement with policymakers at the federal level to advance climate-smart agriculture and shape proposals in the upcoming Farm Bill.
“While I am sad to be leaving such a terrific team at ESMC, I am so excited to be joining EDF in their efforts to support farmers’ transition to a climate-smart future,” he said. “Agriculture is uniquely positioned to offer immediate nature-based climate solutions and I look forward to working with policymakers to put farmers and ranchers at the center of our nation’s climate-change mitigation strategy.”
In his new role with EDF, Andrew will work closely with the Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance (FACA), which brings together environmental and agricultural stakeholders to jointly advocate for climate-smart agriculture legislation, and which EDF serves as co-chair. Andrew also worked with FACA during his time at ESMC, which is a general member of the alliance.
In his immediate previous role, Andrew led ESMC’s engagement with federal and state policymakers to educate them on environmental markets for agriculture and develop policy that reduces barriers to entry for farmers and ranchers in order to scale market adoption. He also co-led ESMC’s Working Group on Inclusion & Racial Justice to identify and remove obstacles to equality, equity, inclusion, and racial justice for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in agriculture. “While environmental markets are an important tool in the agriculture sector’s toolbox, it was important for us to make sure we were not developing yet another system of oppression for BIPOC farmers. I am looking forward to continuing to advocate for a broad portfolio of strategies that move the sector towards its climate and equity goals,” Lentz said.
Prior to his service with ESMC, Andrew held various positions in the public and private sectors, including for USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service where he worked to build agricultural markets in post-conflict regions such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and throughout sub-Saharan Africa. He also previously held positions with Deloitte’s Policy & Government Relations team and in the U.S. House of Representatives.
