Samuel Porter joined MFU as an Agricultural Research Economist in November 2025. Raised in the Twin Cities, Porter lives in Minneapolis with his wife and two children. For the past four years, Porter worked as an Agricultural Economist with USDA NRCS. His career path has taken him from vegetable farming in Minnesota and Massachusetts to international agricultural development. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi and later at the International Potato Center. Porter holds a bachelor’s degree in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University and a master’s in Applied Economics from Cornell University.