Kristi Boswell is counsel in the Legislative & Public Policy Group and a member of the Food, Beverage & Agribusiness Team. Kristi advises and advocates for agricultural and food clients on complex regulatory and legislative issues including labor, immigration, the Farm Bill, trade promotion, agricultural innovation, food supply management, conservation, and sustainability.
Kristi is a preeminent agricultural labor and immigration policy advisor and was instrumental in streamlining long standing agriculture labor regulatory reforms in the H-2A visa program and drafting immigration legislation. She was active in implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill and orchestrated the development of COVID-19 and trade mitigation assistance under Commodity Credit Corporation authorities. Along with her enterprise-wide USDA experience, she has worked with the Department of Labor, Department of Homeland Security, State Department, Food & Drug Administration, and Congressional committees.
Before joining Alston & Bird, Kristi served as a senior advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where she implemented the secretary’s priorities and advised the secretary on decision-making. Kristi also held policy roles at the White House and served as the director of congressional relations at the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Growing up on a farm, Kristi has a natural passion for agriculture and rural America. She received an agricultural legal certificate in law school and focused undergraduate studies on agricultural economics and public policy.