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Stump returns to National FFA Organization in new role as CEO
The new CEO of the National FFA Organization and FFA Foundation says he has deep roots in the organization and ag education.
Scott Stump says it started with his father who was his ag teacher and FFA advisor.
“From that, I really said yes to a lot of FFA opportunities that provided me the opportunity to grow as a leader, find my voice, and to take steps in being an advocate for education and agriculture,” he says.
Stump, who lives in Colorado with his wife and three children, began his career as an ag teacher in northern Indiana before working for the National FFA Organization, where he managed the national officer team and the National FFA Convention and Expo.
From 2007 through 2014, he served as the assistant provost and state director for career and technical education with the Colorado Community College System. Stump also served as state FFA advisor, agriculture program director, and interim president of Northeastern Junior College during his tenure there. In 2015, he was named COO of learning solutions provider Vivayic, Inc. In 2018, he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as the assistant secretary of career, technical and adult education for the U.S. Department of Education, where he served until January. He currently serves as senior advisor with Advance CTE.
He tells Brownfield he is excited to return to the organization as CEO.
“I really enjoyed my time working for FFA nearly 20 years ago and I really planned to stay at FFA, but the opportunity came to spend some time working at the state level leadership for Colorado FFA and then also working with all the ag teachers,” he says. “What I’ve found is that I’ve been preparing for this role.”
Advice he has for younger FFA members is to say yes to opportunities.
“When your teacher asks if you want to try the creed speaking contest or if you want to compete in the agriscience fair, my recommendation is to say yes because in taking advantage of those opportunities you’re going to grow,” he says. “For me that growth led to being able to, for the past couple of years, talk with the United States secretary of education about how we could better connect education and the economy and invest more in young people being prepared for careers like in the industry of agriculture.”
Stump says his vision for the National FFA Organization is to be a welcoming place for all students.
“We want our students to have a place where they can be their authentic selves,” he says. “We have work to do in some underrepresented populations and I’ll be working with the board, as part of the strategic plan, to lay out our path forward to make sure we can provide that welcoming place for all students. I firmly believe all students can benefit from the FFA experience and really use it as a way to gain premier leadership, personal growth, career success skills that will set them up for a positive future.”
Stump begins the new role June 21.
The National FFA Organization has more than 760,000 student members in nearly 9,000 local FFA chapters in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
Audio: Scott Stump
