Harvey P. Wiley, Sr.

Pioneering Senior Level Agricultural Executive, Entrepreneur, and Mentor Extraordinaire | Class of 2023

Harvey P. Wiley Sr., was born in December 1940 and reared in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is a graduate of Philander Smith College (now Philander Smith University) where he was an honors graduate and served on the Board of Trustees from 2014-2019. In 1981, Wiley received an Executive Master of Business Administration from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army and proud member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated. He received the “Man of the Year Award” from the organization in Washington, D.C./Maryland for his commitment to public service.

Appointed in 1994, Wiley was the first African American to serve as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at the Senior Executive level in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Consolidated Farm Service Agency (CFSA). He began with the USDA in Missouri and continued his work up through the ranks over the next thirty years on assignments in Michigan, Kansas, Illinois, and back to Arkansas. As a Senior Executive in his last position with the agency, Wiley was solely responsible for oversight and disbursement of forty-five to fifty billion dollars annually to subsidize farmers throughout the United States. This role included services at locations in every county in the United States with the financial management program encompassing financial operations at 65 cost centers throughout the USDA. His service ended with retirement from the national office in Washington, D.C.
Notably, Wiley holds the distinction of being the first Black person to be appointed to all the positions he held in the federal government. While working full-time, he was an adjunct faculty member at several colleges and universities and made many significant contributions in the field of Financial Management training. Eventually working at the USDA Graduate School, he redefined their entire curriculum and created the “Chief Financial Officers Council Fellows Program”.

In 1986 to help African Americans attain promotions within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Wiley chartered a chapter of Blacks in Government (BIG) at the National Center of Toxicological Research (NCTR) in Pine Bluff/Jefferson, Arkansas. In 1995, he chartered the first chapter of BIG in Washington, D.C., to achieve the same goal within the USDA. His most notable achievement is his impact on helping qualified African Americans to become executives both within the ranks of the USDA and outside it.

In 2009 after having worked for three consulting firms, Wiley launched Mega-K Enterprises, a business advisory firm where he still serves as president. His firm has successfully helped numerous African American businesses acquire millions of dollars in minority government contracts. Additionally, Wiley serves as a member on numerous boards.

Harvey is married to Ruby L. Price Wiley, also a Little Rock native. Ruby has traveled the country and supported his endeavors for more than 60 years. He and Ruby are the proud parents of daughter, Anise Wiley-Little, now CEO of Mega-K Enterprises, and sons, Phillip Wiley, Jr., and the late Victor Wiley.