Kate Greenberg was the first woman appointed to serve as Colorado’s Commissioner of Agriculture by Governor Jared Polis in December 2018. As Commissioner, Greenberg provides leadership and direction to the Colorado Department of Agriculture and its over 300 employees. Commissioner Greenberg has worked in various aspects of agriculture, from boots-on-the-ground experience to advocating for family farmers through two federal Farm Bills.
Prior to her appointment, Greenberg was the Western Program Director for the National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC), where she established and grew the organization’s presence and membership across the West. In her role as Western Director, she organized farmers and ranchers to advocate for state and federal policies that best serve them. Her work focused on farmland affordability, ag education, protecting water for agriculture and expanding access to capital and credit for young and beginning producers.
Leading up to her tenure at NYFC, Greenberg farmed on various operations across the West, managed Western policy field programs through her alma mater, Whitman College, and worked in natural resource education and restoration from eastern Washington to Mexico’s Colorado River Delta. Greenberg was also involved in the development of the Colorado Water Plan and Colorado River Basin water policy, advocating for policies that keep water in agriculture.
Greenberg is the recipient of the Emerging Conservation Leader Award from Western Resource Advocates and an awardee of the 2019 Who’s Who In Agriculture recognition from Colorado Farm Bureau and the Denver Business Journal. She graduated from Water Education Colorado’s Water Leaders flagship course in 2018 and sits on the board of the Quivira Coalition, which brings ranchers, scientists, and conservationists together to practice land stewardship at the radical center.
As Commissioner, Greenberg serves on numerous boards and commissions, including the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and the Colorado State Fair Board. While she currently spends much of her time on Colorado’s Front Range and traveling the state, she still calls Durango, Colorado home.