Shawn Arita is an Associate Research Professor and Associate Director at the Agricultural Risk Policy Center at North Dakota State University. Shawn direct research teams in global commodity markets, trade disruptions, and risk management and leads policy outreach and DC engagement with Federal, Congressional, and industry stakeholders: ensuring direct communication of agricultural policy economic analysis and research. His work bridges rigorous academic research with practical policy implementation, translating complex analyses into actionable insights for decision-makers across government and industry. Before joining NDSU, Shawn served as Senior Economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Chief Economist, where he conducted economic analysis surrounding global commodity markets, trade policy, agricultural supply disruptions, input costs, and farm safety net. Additionally, Shawn provided model-based assessments for WTO trade dispute arbitration and evaluations of agricultural markets under trade agreements. Shawn previously served with the U.S. Trade Representative and, prior to that, was a research economist at the Economic Research Service.