Chris Young, HTS '00, received a Distinguished Alumni Award at the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award Ceremony.

A native of Fitzgerald, Georgia, Chris Young serves as the deputy chief of staff for the United States Department of Agriculture where he leads the externally facing operations of the secretary’s office, including partnerships and public engagement, congressional relations and intergovernmental affairs, communications, and security. Young graduated with highest honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he earned his B.S. in History, Technology, and Society in 2000. He went on to receive a J.D. degree in 2006 from the University of Georgia School of Law. Prior to his position in Washington, Young led the International Training Center for Local Actors (CIFAL)Atlanta, a local government training arm of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. He also spent seven years as the elected president of Protocol & Diplomacy International – Protocol Officers Association (PDI-POA), a worldwide professional organization. Young is a globally recognized subject-matter expert in leadership and organizational dynamics, international protocol, cross-cultural literacy, and negotiations. His work has taken him to more than 100 countries. Over the past decade, Young has organized visits for over 200 presidents, vice presidents, ministers, and ambassadors, as well as planned and executed more than 50 full-scale international business development trips.