Kristie McKinley

Kristie McKinley is a federal IT and business development leader with more than 33 years of experience supporting the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). She brings deep expertise in enterprise technology delivery, geospatial systems, Agile program management, conservation program operations, and digital modernization. McKinley has worked across field, state, and national organizations, helping improve service delivery, strengthen business processes, and manage large technology investments. Her experience spans the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Farm Service Agency (FSA), Rural Development (RD) Production and Conservation (FPAC), and USDA Office of the Chief Information Officer. She combines mission knowledge with experience leading enterprise platforms, AI initiatives, and large-scale technology programs.

As USDA Business Development Executive, McKinley leads growth efforts across USDA mission areas and supports agencies pursuing technology modernization and AI adoption. Before joining Abt, she served as National Conservation Desktop Team Leader and Product Manager for NRCS, where she directed 17 cross-functional Agile Release Train teams supporting systems used by more than 15,000 employees nationwide. Her teams supported delivery of approximately $3 billion in annual conservation assistance. McKinley helped expand access to producer data from 1,000 to 10,000 users, reduced licensing costs by millions of dollars, and led deployment of a web-based platform that enabled remote operations for 12,000 employees.

Earlier in her career, McKinley managed national web application projects and helped build NRCS’s first geospatial web-based reporting and data extraction tool, earning recognition from ESRI. As a District Conservationist and Soil Conservationist, she supervised staff, managed Farm Bill contracts and easements, and provided technical assistance across Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. McKinley also co-developed the USDA/NRCS 2023–2027 Strategic Plan and associated performance measures that informed a $213 billion budget justification. Her work has earned national recognition for operational improvements, reporting automation, and conservation program impact.

Expertise

• Federal IT program and product management
• USDA digital modernization and AI adoption
• Agile Release Train and SAFe leadership
• Enterprise geospatial and financial systems

Key Projects

• Comment Counts
• Conservation Delivery Streamlining Initiative, USDA/NRCS

Certifications

• Project Management Professional, Project Management Institute
• SAFe 6 DevOps Practitioner, Scaled Agile, Inc.
• SAFe 6 Practitioner, Scaled Agile, Inc.