Shawn Reese | Policy Director | 777-8218 |
Shawn Reese is the policy director for Wyoming Governor Matt Mead. In this position since January 2011, Shawn oversees a staff of advisors and analysts who serve the Governor on a range of natural resources, health and human service and energy issues. Shawn is coordinating Governor Mead’s efforts to create a Wyoming energy plan that balances energy development and environmental protection. Shawn works closely with other states’ governor’s offices, western states and energy producing states in particular. Prior to joining Governor Mead’s administration, Shawn managed public infrastructure investments for Wyoming’s economic development agency, the Wyoming Business Council, where Governor Mead served on the board. The infrastructure projects Shawn managed included transportation, water and sewer, and buildings for business development. His career began as a municipal transportation planner with the city of Cheyenne, Wyoming’s capital. Except when he studied at the University of Wyoming, he has lived in Cheyenne. His wife, Amy, is the director of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum and they have two children.
|
Mary Kay Hill | Deputy Policy Director | 777-8239 |
Mary Kay Hill has worked on the development and implementation of education policy in Wyoming for the past 16 years. She served in leadership positions at the Wyoming Department of Education and for Governor Jim Geringer. She has advised a number of Wyoming public officials at the federal, state and local level. She is a graduate of the University of Wyoming, with a degree in journalism. She and her husband, Bill, live in Cheyenne. They are the parents of two college students, Brian and Erin.
|
Nephi Cole | Policy Advisor | 777-3691 |
Prior to joining the Governor’s staff, Nephi worked for the Natural Resources Conservation Service for 11 years. At the NRCS he was a soil scientist and the Watershed Coordinator and Partnership Liaison to the Wyoming Association of Conservation Districts. Nephi has extensive experience with GIS technologies. He graduated from Utah State University with a Master’s Degree in Soil Science, following a Bachelor’s in Environmental Soil and Water Science with Geology and Agronomy minors. Nephi also served in Sao Paulo, Brazil with a non-profit for two years. Nephi, his wife, Lyndsay, and their son Griffin live in Cheyenne.
|
Steve Ferrell | Wildlife and Endangered
Species Policy Advisor | 777-8248 |
From 2008 to 2011, Steve Ferrell served as director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department where he addressed issues involving the state’s wildlife resources including wolves, grizzly bears, sage grouse conservation, wildlife diseases and invasive species. Prior to coming to Wyoming, Steve worked for 30 years with the Arizona Game and Fish Department. Steve graduated from the University of Arizona with honors in 1978, became a Certified Public Manager in 1988 and graduated from the inaugural class of the National Conservation Leadership Institute in 2006. He is married to his wife of 34 years, Debbie, a retired schoolteacher. Their daughter is a psychologist in Portland, Oregon and their son, a combat veteran of the Iraqi War, is currently deployed in Afghanistan as a civilian contractor.
|
Gary Hartman | Policy Advisor | 777-5771 |
Gary P. Hartman graduated from Basin High School and attended the University of Wyoming where he received his undergraduate and law degrees. He practiced law in the Big Horn Basin for 10 years and was later appointed to the District Court bench by Governor Ed Herschler. He served in the 5th Judicial District for 25 years before joining Governor Dave Freudenthal’s staff. Gary and his wife Betsy enjoy traveling and riding their Honda motorcycle during the summer months. Gary is a U.S Air Force veteran and served 1 year in Vietnam.
|
Rob Hurless | Energy Strategy Advisor | 777-3654 |
Rob Hurless is Energy Strategy Advisor to Governor Matt Mead. He also works as the Deputy Director of the Carbon Management Institute at the School of Energy Resources at the University of Wyoming. Prior to these current assignments he served as Energy and Telecommunications Advisor to Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal. He came to this position from a tour as Chairman of the Wyoming Public Service Commission. For the bulk of his career Hurless was Publisher of the Casper Star-Tribune. He served as an officer aboard the USS Quapaw, ATF 110, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
|
Cameron Nazminia | Policy Advisor | 777-6472 |
Prior to joining Governor Matt Mead’s staff as a policy advisor, Cameron worked for a multilateral development agency in Washington D.C. and a global gold mining firm in Denver. Cameron is multilingual and experienced in international business. He graduated from the University of Wyoming with a degree in finance and banking. He is currently a member on the International Board of Advisors at the University of Wyoming. Cameron also holds a graduate degree from Colorado School of Mines in international political economy with a minor in mining engineering. In his free time, he enjoys the great outdoors and reading.
|
Nathan Nicholas | Policy Advisor | 777-8094 |
Nathan Nicholas is a fourth generation Wyoming native from Laramie. After receiving his B.S. in electrical engineering in 2006, he worked for a Fort Collins-based industrial robotics company as an engineer, project manager and international sales representative. In 2009, Nathan returned to school and obtained a Master’s in Business Administration and a Juris Doctor; completing his studies in December, 2012. Nathan speaks Mandarin Chinese and has experience living and conducting business in Asia. When he isn’t working, Nathan enjoys most outdoor sports including skiing, mountain biking and fishing.
|
Jerimiah Rieman | Natural Resources Policy Advisor | 777-5629 |
Jerimiah L. Rieman serves Governor Matthew H. Mead as his Natural Resource Policy Advisor, a position he has held since January, 2011. Jerimiah oversees policy issues concerning the management or use of lands or natural resources in Wyoming. Jerimiah served as administrator of the Wyoming Workforce Development Council prior to joining Governor Matt Mead’s Policy Office. During that time, he also served as Policy and Legislative Advisor to the Department of Workforce Services. Since February 2010 he has overseen American Recovery and Reinvestment Act implementation, accountability and transparency efforts within Wyoming. Jerimiah graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism in 2001. The fifth generation Wyoming native also is a 2009 graduate of Leadership Wyoming. Jerimiah enjoys skiing, mountain biking, and Wyoming's great outdoors. He and his wife Kristen are the proud parents of identical twin boys Boden and Potter.
|
Merit Thomas | Policy Advisor | 777-8206 |
Merit is a Wyoming native, born and raised in Worland. She graduated from the University of Wyoming with a degree in psychology. Merit brings many years of experience in state government to the Governor’s Policy Office. She worked in the Department of Family Services and most recently in the Department of Health. She and her husband Joe enjoy weekends in Glendo.
|
Jason Wasserburger | Policy Advisor | 777-8006 |
Jason Wasserburger is a fourth generation Wyomingite, who grew up in Lusk. He attended the University of Wyoming where he obtained a degree in political science and a Juris Doctor in 2008. He worked in private civil practice in Gillette since graduating from UW's College of Law. When not working, he enjoys participating in any sporting activity, watching the Colorado Rockies and Denver Broncos, and traveling.
|
Mike Reed | Impaired Driving Council Coordinator | 777-8093 |
James M. (Mike) Reed, was born in Wichita Kansas, but has lived in Wyoming for over 32 years and considers it home. Mike started his career in the private sector and quickly became involved in the community serving as chairman of many county and state boards including Carbon County Child Development Center, Carbon County Counseling Center, and Memorial Hospital of Carbon County. Mike worked in law enforcement for 24 years, and for 10 years was Rawlins Chief of Police. He is a graduate of the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy and the F.B.I. National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. He holds numerous certifications and awards, and is a recipient of the State of Wyoming’s “Peace Officer of the Year”. Mike and his wife, Theresa, have one daughter, Nicole, who is enrolled in the Biology Program at the University of Wyoming.
|
Rebekah Fitzgerald | Natural Resources Policy Analyst | 777-8204 |
Rebekah Fitzgerald a fourth generation Wyomingite who grew up in Buffalo. She serves Governor Mead as his Natural Resource Policy Analyst, a position she has held since January 2011. Rebekah works on policy issues involving natural resources and public land management with a focus on Forest Service lands and public land grazing. Prior to joining Governor Mead's Policy Staff she worked on Governor Mead's 2010 Campaign as his Outreach Coordinator and served on the Governor's Transition Team. Rebekah graduated cum laude from Oklahoma Baptist University in 2009 with a Bachelors of Arts degree in political science. Rebekah enjoys woodworking and spending time with her husband, Patrick, traveling and participating in outdoor sports and activities.
|
Colin McKee | Energy Policy Analyst | 777-7930 |
Colin McKee was born and raised in Missouri. After receiving degrees in Finance and Economics from Drury University in 2008, Colin accepted the position of finance director for a personal security firm located in Timor-Leste. Upon his return, he took on various opportunities working as a business development consultant. He and his wife, Hayley, live in Cheyenne. In his free time, Colin enjoys watching college football, reading non-fiction books and a host of outdoor activities, especially fly fishing.
|
|
Ellen Skinner | Policy Analyst | 777-8922 |
Ellen has worked in a variety of businesses and agencies in policy, research, communications and marketing. She grew up in Pinedale where her family operated a wilderness school and big game outfitting business. Ellen earned a bachelor’s degree in range management at the University of Wyoming and a master’s degree in communication at Colorado State University. Ellen has one grown daughter, a mechanical engineer. She enjoys skiing, hiking, camping and reading.
|
Kathryn (Kathy) Lind | Policy Assistant | 777-7928 |
Kathy grew up in northern Minnesota in a region known as the Iron Range. She moved to Colorado where she met her husband, Dave, and together they raised three children. In 2003, after moving to Wyoming, Kathy earned an associate’s degree from Laramie County Community College. Her career path has included working for small businesses, corporations, school districts and state government.
|