Speaker

For the past two years Lucas Blaustein has served as the Regional Agricultural Attaché in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service, Office of Agricultural Affairs in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He is responsible for office management and policy. His time in Dubai has been defined by projects as varied as the U.S. Agribusiness Trade Mission 2022, Expo 2020, and evacuation of USDA contacts from Afghanistan.

Lucas joined the Department of Agriculture from a successful career in the private sector as an international grain trader, merchandising physicals and futures from farm to foreign port. He has worked for large and medium size food and beverage companies, and daily relies on his industry knowledge to help American agribusiness abroad.

Prior to serving in Dubai, Lucas was the Deputy Chief for the Agricultural Section at the American Institute in Taiwan, where he covered policy and related issues for the Office of Agricultural Affairs from 2019 to 2020. Before Taiwan, he worked as the Lead Japan, Korean, and Taiwan Desk Officer in charge of policy formulation and coordination in Washington, D.C. Working at USDA headquarters in the South Building provided him numerous opportunities, including representing USDA to the National Security Council, working on Japan trade negotiations, and traveling to Tokyo to negotiate preparations for the G-20 Agricultural Ministerial. In both 2019 and 2020 he received the FAS Administrator’s Outstanding Cross Agency Team award, and a Meritorious Honor Award from the U.S. Department of State for his policy work in Taiwan. Lucas speaks Mandarin, a little Arabic, and some Japanese.

Lucas completed his Associate of Math and Science from Houston Community College, Bachelor of Science in Economics with a minor of Chinese Studies at the University of Houston, and a Master of Agribusiness in agricultural economics at Texas A&M University. His is joined abroad by his wife, Sha Luo, and his two sons, Han Lee and Arthur Bowen. When not overseas, Lucas spends his time farming with his family on their organic orchard in the mountains of West Virginia.