A South Dakota native, Nathan Sanderson holds a B.S. in agriculture education from South Dakota State University, an M.A. in American history from the University of Indianapolis, and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is the Director of Policy and Operations for the State of South Dakota.  He previously served as a policy advisor to South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard and as director of the Office of Agricultural Policy for the South Dakota Department of Agriculture. Before working in state government, Sanderson was a history instructor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and project manager for the “Railroads and the Making of Modern America” digital project.