Former Deputy Secretary of State appointed as WDE Boards and Commissions Coordinator
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (KIFI) - State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder has named Karen Wheeler as the Boards and Commissions Coordinator for the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE).
Wheeler began her 37-year career with the Secretary of State’s Office in 1985, and served under seven Secretaries of State. Wheeler finished her career in the Secretary of State’s Office in 2022, serving as the Deputy Secretary of State. She is now a private consultant, and will be staffing and advising the Superintendent on her board and commission work.
"I am thrilled to announce the addition of Karen Wheeler to our leadership team,” Degenfelder said. “One of my top priorities as State Superintendent is to maximize return on state lands and investments for schools and other beneficiaries. Karen's nearly 40 years of experience in the state's executive branch, many of which included regular staffing of the State Loan and Investment Board, State Board of Land Commissioners, and State Building Commission for the Secretary of State, will be an invaluable resource on this priority."
Wheeler started in the Secretary of State’s business division as a registrar, then transferred to the securities division as a financial analyst, where she audited stockbrokers and brokerage firms. She then became the Compliance Division Director in the Secretary of State’s office, and was responsible for the regulation of the investment industry as well as the registered agent industry.
As the Deputy Secretary of State, Wheeler was responsible for all statutory duties and operations of the Secretary of State’s Office, including planning, budget, personnel, staff development, boards and commissions, legislature, and oversight of service to the public. During her time as Deputy, the Secretary of State’s Office received national recognition for their state of the art administrative rules system and blockchain and digital asset regulation.
She joins a WDE leadership team that includes Dicky Shanor as Chief of Staff, Wanda Maloney as Chief Policy Officer, Trent Carroll as Chief Operations Officer, Shelley Hamel as Chief Academic Officer and Linda Finnerty as Communications Director.
