Richard Gupton, possessing more than 20 years of public policy experience, serves as ARA’s senior vice president of public policy and counsel. Gupton represents the ag retailers’ and distributors’ interests before the legislative and executive branches of government, working to ensure that important ag retail-distribution issues receive fair consideration on Capitol Hill. He also manages ARAPAC, the association’s political action committee.

Prior to joining ARA, Gupton served as deputy director of agricultural finance for the Independent Community of Bankers of America (ICBA). Before ICBA, Gupton spent six years on Capitol Hill working in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives as legislative counsel, advising members of Congress on a wide range of policy issues such as agriculture, environment, transportation, and energy.

Gupton is a graduate of Campbell University’s Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, and holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is licensed to practice law in North Carolina, the District of Columbia, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, and the U.S. Supreme Court.