Kevin Atticks was appointed Acting Secretary of Agriculture on Jan. 18, 2023 and sworn in as Secretary on March 2, 2023. Prior to his appointment, Atticks was CEO (and founder) of Grow & Fortify, a company supporting value-added agricultural organizations and the businesses they represent. Grow & Fortify published the first assessment of the state’s value-added agricultural industry, illustrating the expansive impact generated by this sector, which includes wineries, creameries, meat processing, agritourism, equine and dozens of other industry segments. 

Atticks was also the Executive Director of the Maryland Wineries Association, Brewers Association of Maryland and the Maryland Distillers Guild, and served as the President of the Maryland Agricultural Resource Council, and the Chair of the WineAmerica State & Regional Associations Advisory Council.​

Atticks formerly served on the University of Maryland College of Agriculture's Global Leadership Council, the board of Future Harvest and the board of the Maryland Tourism Coalition.​

Originally from Bowie, Maryland, Atticks graduated with a journalism degree from Loyola University Maryland. Shortly thereafter, Atticks received a master's degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO. He later earned his doctorate in communications design from University of Baltimore. He holds a faculty position at Loyola University Maryland.​