Today, Governor Kevin Stitt announces the appointment of Shelley Zumwalt to serve as the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation. Prior to this appointment Zumwalt served as the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission since May of 2020.
“Shelley is smart, hardworking and boasts a proven and impressive track record of strong leadership during her time at the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission,” said Governor Stitt. “I look forward to her taking on this new role and am confident in her ability to promote our great state.”
Shelley Zumwalt started her state service over a decade ago in an entry-level position as a budget analyst at the Office of State Finance, overseeing the Health and Human Services cabinet. Since then, Zumwalt has served the state in a variety of capacities, including in the Office of the Governor under the Fallin Administration as Public Affairs Director, as Chief of Communications Strategic Engagement for the Oklahoma Health Care Authority and in multiple roles at the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.
“I’m honored to again be asked to serve my state in a leadership role as the Executive Director of ODTR. My state service and serving OESC during the pandemic has given me a skill set and experience to lead an organization to act decisively and responsibly with taxpayer dollars,” said Zumwalt. “State service is something I firmly believe in and as a proud native Oklahoman, I am excited to devote my time and passion to an agency that is vital to Oklahoma’s economy and state identity. I’m grateful to have been able to lead OESC and its dedicated staff at such a pivotal time in state history and I’m ready to take on this new and important challenge.”
In her most recent role as executive director of OESC, Zumwalt led Oklahoma through a critical time as she oversaw the agency through the pandemic and unemployment crisis. Zumwalt oversaw the distribution of over $5 billion in federal and state benefits and worked to drive down the unemployment rate that was at nearly 15% when she arrived to record lows with more citizens in the workforce than at any other time in state history at over 1.8 million.
Zumwalt lives in Oklahoma City with her husband John and daughter Lilly. She enjoys running, reading and cherishes spending time with her family. She’s a member of several civic and professional organizations including Oklahoma City Rotary and The Governor’s Interagency Council on Homelessness.
Gov. Stitt’s appointment of Zumwalt can be found here.
Original source can be found here.
