Larry Kissell, member of APCO’s International Advisory Council, served as the U.S. representative (D) for North Carolina’s 8th congressional district from 2009 to 2013.
During his time in Congress, Mr. Kissell served on the Committee on Agriculture, including the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management and the Subcommittee on Rural Development, Research, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture. He also served on the Committee of Armed Services, including the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces and Subcommittee on Readiness. He was also a member of the Congressional Sportsman and Invisible Wounds Caucuses, among others. He was known for his bipartisan approach.
Prior to his career in public service, Mr. Kissell worked in textiles for 27 years. He resigned from this job in 2001, taking a job as a social studies teacher at his former high school, East Montgomery High School. Mr. Kissell, without any political background, then ran for Congress, citing his concerns which primarily centered around the economics of his and similar rural areas.
Mr. Kissell is a lifelong resident of Biscoe, North Carolina, a small town between Charlotte and Fayetteville. He graduated from Wake Forest University in 1973 with a degree in economics.