Governor's Office
State Capitol, 200 West 24th Street
Cheyenne, WY 82002-0010
307.777.7434 (phone)
307.632.3909 (fax)
POLICY STAFF
Rob Hurless
Energy and Telecommunications Policy Advisor
Rob is former chairman of the Wyoming Public Service Commission and was publisher of the Casper-Star Tribune. He is active in economic development in the state and in regional electric utility planning activities. He earned a B.S. in chemistry and a B.A. in history from Montana State University, an M.A. in applied economics from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from Harvard University. In addition to dispensing advice, Rob enjoys open source software and fly fishing.
rhurle@state.wy.us
Wendy Curran
Healthcare Policy Advisor
Prior to joining the Governor’s staff, Wendy served as executive director of the Wyoming Medical Society, where she also worked as director of public affairs and policy with primary responsibility for government relations, lobbying and communications. She has worked with legislative committees and other statewide groups involved in discussing healthcare insurance affordability and availability, rural health system enhancements, scope of practice issues, physician recruitment and retention, health professional staffing issues and other topics affecting healthcare and medicine in Wyoming. A Wyoming native, she holds a bachelor’s degree in American studies from the University of Wyoming and is a 2001 graduate of the statewide Leadership Wyoming program. She is married and has three children.
wcurra@state.wy.us
Steve Furtney
Natural Resources Policy Advisor
Steve is former Chair, Deputy Chair and Commissioner for the Wyoming Public Service Commission, as well as a former Administrator and Economist for the Wyoming Department of Administration and Information, Economic Analysis Division. He also served as co-chair for the Wyoming Consensus Revenue Estimating Group from 1991 to 1997. Steve is a graduate of Cheyenne Central High School and the University of Wyoming where he earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Economics. In addition to his work on natural resource policy issues for the state, Steve enjoys time with his family, his friends and the incredible outdoor adventure and recreation opportunities that Wyoming has to offer.
sfurtn@state.wy.us
Kathleen McKinley
Education Policy Advisor
Kathleen joins the Governor’s staff following twenty years in the classroom, where she thoroughly enjoyed teaching secondary science and mathematics. A Wyoming native, she is the daughter of a school teacher and a principal. She holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary science education from the University of Wyoming and a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Northern Colorado. She and her husband, John, have three grown children.
kmckin2@state.wy.us
Gary P. Hartman
Juvenile Justice Policy Analyst
Prior to joining the Governor's staff, Gary served as a District Judge for 25 years in the Big Horn Basin. He has an interest in juvenile and family issues and started the first Family Treatment Court in the State of Wyoming. He is a University of Wyoming Law School graduate and is admitted to the practice of law in Wyoming and Colorado. He served four years in the U.S. Air Force and is a Vietnam Veteran. He and his wife, Betsy, enjoy riding their Honda Goldwing motorcycle.
ghartm@state.wy.us
Ellen Skinner
Constituent Correspondent and Education Policy Analyst
Ellen grew up in Pinedale, Wyo. enjoying the outdoors at Skinner Brothers Wilderness Schools in the summer, and ski racing in winter. She earned a degree in Range Management from the University of Wyoming where she was awarded one of the first two ski racing scholarships for women. Ellen holds a Masters degree in Communication from Colorado State University where she studied and published a report on the effects of anti-drug messaging on teenagers. For more than 15 years, Ellen has applied her communications, marketing and public relation skills to positions in education (Sublette County School District #1 and Colorado State University), health (McKesson) and energy (XCEL Energy, Pinedale Anticline). Ellen enjoys the mountains of Wyoming, the view of wide-open spaces and the smell of aspen leaves on a crisp, fall day. She has one grown daughter.
eskinn2@state.wy.us
Temple Stevenson
Natural Resource Policy Advisor
Temple has worked on natural resource issues for the Governor since 2004, concentrating on public land issues. Prior to coming to the Governor’s Office she created A Dust Suppression Best Practices Manual for Wyoming’s Coal Mine Haul Roads, assisted federal agencies in drafting environmental documents, and worked as a timber crew leader and wild fire fighter for the U.S. Forest Service. Temple is in her third year of law school at the University of Wyoming College of Law.
mailto:tsteve1@state.wy.us
Leigh Anne Manlove
Press Secretary
Leigh Anne Manlove is a Wyoming native who earned her BA in English and Journalism as well as a law degree from the University of Wyoming. She has worked in the public sector, for U.S. Sen. Al Simpson (R-WY); in the private sector, for Shell Development Corp, and in the nonprofit sector for the Wyoming State Bar Foundation. Leigh Anne and her husband, Cole, are the parents of two rather wild and unruly boys who are the delight of their lives.
lmanlo@state.wy.us
Steve Ellenbecker
Energy Policy Advisor and Western Governors’ Association Staff Council Representative
Steve is a consulting energy policy advisor to the Governor. From 1994-2004, he was chairman of the Wyoming Public Service Commission. In 2004-2005, he served in the Governor’s Office as energy and telecommunications advisor. He is the Governor’s Staff Council representative in the Western Governors’ Association and the Western Interstate Energy Board. He earned a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Wyoming.
Laura Ladd
Energy Economics Advisor
Laura Ladd serves as an Energy Advisor to Governor Freudenthal and brings more than a dozen years of finance, project management, marketing and strategic-planning expertise to her role. Laura's previous work experience includes managing and developing a $100MM corporate lending portfolio as an Assistant Vice President at First Interstate Bank, working on merger integration and strategic alliances at Booz Allen and Hamilton and building a new distribution channel for an online pet e-tailer. She is a co-founder of Hewitt Ladd, a strategic management consulting firm based in Jackson, Wyoming. At Hewitt Ladd, Laura has served in a general management capacity for real estate projects in Wyoming, Texas and Nevada – most recently managing the $85MM residential sales program at the Four Seasons Jackson Hole. She also conducts due diligence and develops investment opportunities for a private investor in Jackson Hole. In 2006, she held fundraising and media planning responsibilities for the 2006 Folks for Freudenthal campaign. Laura holds a BS from Pepperdine University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.