Kate LaTour is Senior Manager for Government Affairs where she represents CoBank before Congress and the Administration. In this role, she also supports CoBank’s corporate social responsibility programs primarily focused on cooperatives, food systems and rural prosperity.
Previously, Kate was the Director of Government Relations for the National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International where she led advocacy efforts to support cooperatives, including re-establishing the Congressional Cooperative Business Caucus, increasing awareness of the Rural Cooperative Development Grant program and ensuring cooperatives were able to equitably access disaster relief support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kate also served as a legislative staffer in the U.S. Senate working on economic policy and introducing legislation to promote cooperative and employee ownership to address the small business ‘Silver Tsunami.’ She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, majoring in Political Science and International Affairs, and her master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University where her research focused on policy and political enabling environments for cooperatives across economic sectors. Kate currently serves as a Board member of the Association of Cooperative Educators and CooperationWorks!