Matt McKenna is an executive-in-residence overseeing the Rural Opportunity Initiative of Business for Impact. He recently served as senior advisor to the U.S. Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Tom Vilsack. In this role, McKenna worked to leverage federal resources with public and private partners to foster job creation, business development, and economic growth in rural America.

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Prior to joining the USDA in 2013, McKenna served as president and chief executive officer of Keep America Beautiful, Inc., the nation’s leading nonprofit that brings volunteers together to build and sustain vibrant communities. Also, McKenna served as senior vice president of finance, senior vice president and treasurer and senior vice president of tax at PepsiCo. Before joining PepsiCo in 1993, McKenna served as partner with the law firm of Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts in New York.

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A graduate of Georgetown Law, McKenna is an active director of Foot Locker, Inc. and was chairman of the Board of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps. He has served on the board of trustees of several other for-profit and nonprofit organizations, including PepsiAmericas, Inc. and Hamilton College, where he graduated in 1972 and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Also, McKenna has served on the boards of Manhattanville College, the foundation for Purchase College of the State University of New York, and the Manhattan Theatre Club. He has been an adjunct professor at Fordham University since 1984.