Collin C. Peterson
Congressman Collin C. Peterson represented Minnesota’s Seventh District from 1991 to 2021. He served as Chairman and Ranking Member of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee from 2005 to 2021 and was instrumental in writing and passing four farm bills. He is a nationally recognized expert on agriculture policy and has a strong reputation for his steadfast commitment to bringing everyone to the table while offering positive and practical solutions to difficult problems.
Congressman Peterson grew up on a farm near Moorhead, Minnesota, and was active in 4H, high school music and sporting activities, and working on the farm. He earned a BA in Accounting and Business Administration from Minnesota State University Moorhead, served in the National Guard, and went on to become a Certified Public Accountant in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. He was elected to the Minnesota State Senate in 1976 and served for 10 years with a focus on the agriculture and tax committees.
Mr. Peterson is currently President and founder of his government affairs and public policy firm, The Peterson Group. He also has a partnership with Combest Sell and Associates in Washington D.C. to advise and consult on policies that bolster U.S. agriculture and rural America.
Director of Government Affairs
Elliott A. Peterson
Elliott Peterson served as Treasurer, Election Compliance Manager, and off-year Campaign Manager for Congressman Collin Peterson’s re-election campaigns from 1999 to 2021. He also worked as a fundraiser and campaign staffer from 1989 to 1992. Elliott has extensive experience with federal election compliance, media purchasing, campaign DATA management, and fundraising strategies.
Elliott grew up in western Minnesota, where he worked on his father’s campaigns, door-knocking, manning county fair booths, and as a parade/event band musician. Elliott enjoyed helping on his uncle’s dairy farm and is passionate about issues affecting rural communities and farmers. Elliott and his wife, Janae, have two adult children and two grandchildren. Previously, Elliot served as Director of Music and Worship for a large church in Middle Tennessee for 20 years.
Elliott is currently Secretary/Treasurer and Director of Government Affairs for The Peterson Group. He also serves as finance director and treasurer for several political action committees.
Former Chief of Staff for Congressman Collin Peterson
Allison M. Stock
Allison Stock served as Chief of Staff for Congressman Collin Peterson from 2015 to 2021, and prior to that was his Communications Director. She also ran the Peterson for Congress Campaign for five election cycles. She has more than two decades of experience in both campaigns and Congress and worked on a number of legislative and gubernatorial races in Minnesota. Her work in the House focused on rural economic development and agriculture issues, water management, flood response and recovery and local government outreach.
Allison grew up in western Otter Tail County, Minnesota, where she worked on her family’s small farm and traveled throughout the wheat belt for their custom-harvesting operation. She earned a BA in Political Science from Saint Olaf College in Northfield, MN, and was a Policy Fellow at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs in Minneapolis.
Former Democratic Staff Director of the House Agriculture Committee
Anne Simmons
Anne recently retired as the Democratic Staff Director of the House Agriculture Committee. She has been in that role since late 2016, when former Congressman Collin Peterson (D-MN) was Ranking Member.
She continued to serve in that role as Peterson became Chairman again in the 116th Congress, and she also served in that role for former Chairman and Ranking Member David Scott (D-GA) in the 117th and 118th Congresses.
Anne joined the Agriculture Committee staff in 1993 and served as staff director of several subcommittees, including commodities and conservation, credit, and rural development.
She worked on issues related to program crops, conservation, energy, credit, and research for the former Ranking Democrat on the Committee, Charlie Stenholm (D-TX), and former Chairman, E (Kika) de la Garza (D-TX).
Prior to joining the Ag Committee, she was a member of then-Congressman Tim Johnson’s (D-SD) congressional staff and got her start with the late Congressman Berkley Bedell (D-IA) as an intern.
She is proud to have worked on efforts to bring the Census of Agriculture to USDA in 1997, providing mandatory funding to farm bill programs in 1996, and the passage of six farm bills and almost a 7th, which while it didn’t pass, did lead to the provision of $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers at the end of the 118th Congress.
Anne was raised on a corn, soybean, and livestock farm near Spencer, Iowa, and graduated from Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa.
Legislative Assistant
Kara Zubo
Kara worked for Congressman Jonathan L. Jackson (D-IL) as both a Legislative Fellow and Intern, where she contributed to the Congressman’s agriculture priorities. Her work included drafting a comprehensive agriculture policy guidebook, conducting research on SNAP, crop insurance, and preparing legislative hearing materials. She also gained experience in congressional communications, press writing, and policy memo drafting.
Prior to Congressman Jackson’s office, Kara worked in Congressman Mike Quigley’s Office and in Zurich Insurance’s Office of Regulatory Relations as an intern. Kara worked on JB Pritzker’s first gubernatorial campaign from 2016 to 2018 as a canvasser, door knocking throughout McHenry County, Illinois.
Kara was born and raised in Algonquin, Illinois and is passionate about advancing policies that support family farmers and rural communities. She graduated cum laude from DePaul University in Chicago, earning a double major in Writing & Rhetoric and History of Art & Architecture.
Kara Zubo currently serves as a Legislative Assistant with The Peterson Group.
