Alan D. Barkema is senior vice president of the Research Division and Director of Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. In this role, he directs the Bank's research and economic analysis.

Since joining the Bank as a research economist in 1986, Mr. Barkema has written and spoken widely on developments in the regional and agricultural economies. He served a three-year term as professor and head of the Agricultural Economics Department at Oklahoma State University and returned to the Bank's Economic Research Department in 1999 to help launch the Bank's Center for the Study of Rural America. He was appointed Senior Vice President in charge of the Bank's then-new Regional, Public and Community Affairs Division in 2005 and was promoted to his current position in 2009.

A native of Alexander, Iowa, Mr. Barkema holds B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Iowa State University and an M.S. degree from Cornell University.