Marcinda Kester was appointed by the Trump Administration to serve as the state executive director of the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands in June 2025.

Kester has worked for FSA for 33 years. She started her career as a county executive director in Florida, where she worked for 12 years before moving to Kentucky to serve as a farm program specialist in the Kentucky FSA State Office before being promoted to farm program chief. After spending nine years in Kentucky, Kester moved back to Florida where she worked as the county executive director for Polk, Hillsborough, and Pinellas counties, for the last nine years.

Kester has received numerous awards throughout her career, most notably earning the FSA Administrator’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

She has been actively involved in the National Association of FSA County Office Employees, including serving as past president, president, and secretary, where she provided leadership and guidance to the association’s membership that represents over 7,000 employees. She is also treasurer of the Southeast Circuit Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association.

Kester has also been directly involved in production agriculture. She owned and operated a cow/calf operation in Brooksville, Florida.

She has a dual bachelor’s degree in marketing management and human resources management.

Kester is originally from Austin, Indiana, and currently lives in Lakeland, Florida. She enjoys going to rodeos, refinishing old furniture and antiquing.