Molly O’Connor

Molly O’Connor is the Director of Federal Affairs for the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), where she leads federal advocacy efforts and works closely with Congress, federal agencies, and industry stakeholders to shape policies and advance the interests of pork producers nationwide.

With more than a decade of experience in federal government relations focused on agriculture and food policy, Molly brings deep extensive expertise in the Farm Bill, regulatory reform, supply chains, and international trade. Most recently, she served as Director of Federal Government Relations at CropLife America, where she directed the association’s federal advocacy strategy on international trade policy, and represented the U.S. pesticide industry before Congress, federal agencies, and the Administration.

Prior to that, Molly was a Senior Policy Advisor at Olsson Frank Weeda, where she led federal lobbying efforts for commodity and food-sector clients across livestock, meatpacking, labor, trade, international food aid and nutrition. She shaped and executed advocacy strategies, brought stakeholders together through coalition-building efforts, and guided compliance and fundraising activities to advance shared agricultural policy goals.

Molly’s passion for agriculture policy was shaped by her parents’ farming experience and a family legacy of farming in Illinois since the early 1800s. Rooted in a lifelong interest in horses and agriculture, she earned a degree in Agricultural Business from Colorado State University. She began her career with the National Pork Producers Council in 2011 as an International Trade Intern, an experience that laid the foundation for her deep understanding of the pork industry and its global markets.