2024 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit

John Larson joined American Farmland Trust (AFT) as Senior Vice President in April of 2015, having previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD). Before NACD, Larson worked directly with Washington State conservation districts for 6 years as the Executive Director of the Washington Association of Conservation Districts (WACD), and for several years as the President of the Washington Association of (Conservation) District Employees (WADE).

Larson has a passion for natural resources and the outdoors, and is an avid fly fisherman, marathon runner, and mountain biker. Before his nearly 20 years with conservation districts, Larson owned and operated an irrigated row-crop farm in central Washington State.

Before moving to the Twin Cities of Minnesota, Larson resided in Washington, D.C. area. Larson was born and raised on the West Coast in Washington State. He is an alumnus of Washington State University, where he studied Agricultural Economics. He and his wife Shannon have two grown children, Tyler and Cassie.