Tjada D'Oyen McKenna

Tjada D'Oyen McKenna is the deputy coordinator for development for Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative. In this capacity, McKenna coordinates implementation of Feed the Future across the U.S. Government, oversees its execution and reports on results, and leads engagement with the external community to ensure that food security remains high on the development agenda.

Prior to taking on the role of deputy coordinator for development in October 2011, McKenna served as deputy assistant administrator in the Bureau for Food Security. In this role, McKenna oversaw critical elements of USAID’s implementation of Feed the Future, managed an interagency effort to provide support and analyses to enable market- led growth, developed transformational private sector alliances, and fostered innovation to accelerate agricultural development and curb undernutrition. 

McKenna joined the USAID from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she served as a senior program Officer in the Agricultural Development Program. In this role, she developed grants and strategies to effectively link smallholder farmers in Africa and South Asia to markets. Some of her key accomplishments included working with the World Food Program to develop its Purchase for Progress program, developing the foundation’s Agricultural Development Program’s strategy for South Asia, creating the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa's (AGRA) Market Access Program, and developing and managing a $47 million coffee grant designed to double the income of a million smallholder farmers over a 10-year period. 

McKenna has held additional roles in agricultural development at Monsanto Co. and as a consultant with McKinsey & Company where she co-authored the McKinsey Quarterly article, "Food for West Africa." In addition, McKenna has held strategy and business development roles at American Express and GE. 

McKenna earned a B.A. from Harvard College in government and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. She is a past member of the National Board of the Girl Scouts of the USA.