Elected Officials
David D. Freudenthal
Dave Freudenthal was born in Thermopolis in 1950, the seventh of eight children. He grew up on the family farm, north of town. He earned money for college by working construction during the summers. His jobs included building tanks as a member of the National Brotherhood of Boilermakers and Blacksmiths Union.
After graduating from Amherst (Massachusetts) College in 1973, he permanently returned to Wyoming to take a position as an economist for the Wyoming Department of Economic Planning and Development. Governor Ed Herschler appointed him State Planning Coordinator in 1975. As a graduate of the University of Wyoming College of Law, Dave opened his own one-man law office in Cheyenne in 1980. The office grew into a general practice firm, representing individuals and businesses. In 1994 he was appointed United States Attorney for Wyoming, a position he held until May 2001.
Over the years, Dave actively participated in a wide variety of civic activites. Among other things, he has been Chairman of the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce; a founding director of the Wyoming Student Loan Corporation; a member of the Education Policy Implementation Council; a member of the state Economic Development and Stabilization Board; a member of the Laramie County Community Action Board; and a lay reader and Vestryperson in his church.
Dave and his wife Nancy have four children.
Max Maxfield
Max Maxfield grew up in Wisconsin where he graduated from Janesville High
School in 1963. He attended the University of Wisconsin, Steven's Point
and Whitewater.
His career in public service has spanned nonprofit, public and private
sectors. Max was a YMCA director for twenty years, former director of the
Wyoming Recreation Commission, and the first appointed director of the
Wyoming Department of Commerce - a position he held for five years. More
recently, Max served as the Executive Director of the Wyoming Make-A-Wish
Foundation and as a financial consultant for various nonprofit agencies
across the country.
Max and his wife Gayla make community and church an important part of their daily
lives. Max is a certified Lay Speaker, past president of the Staff Parish
Board and a Stephen Minister of the First United Methodist Church. He has served a
wide range of other organizations, including United Way of Laramie County, Wyoming
Children's Society, Crimestoppers and the Wyoming Alzheimer's Association, Special
Olympics of Wyoming. Max is a Rotarian and a Paul Harris Fellow.
Max and Gayla are the proud parents of four grown children.
Rita Meyer
Nineteenth Auditor of the State of
Wyoming
Rita was raised near the small ranching community of Johnstown, Nebraska and moved to Centennial in 1977. She is a graduate of the University of Wyoming with degrees in education and finance. She also holds an MBA in International Business from Regis University in Denver, Colorado and a Master's in National Resource Strategy from National Defense University in Washington, D.C.
Rita has served her state and the nation for over 22 years as an enlisted airman and officer in the Wyoming Air National Guard. Her duty assignments have included Executive Officer, Comptroller, Strategic Planning Officer (Pentagon), Personnel Programs Officer, and Aero Medical Operations Officer. She attained the rank of full Colonel in July 2004 and currently serves as Commander, 153rd Mission Support Group. Rita is a combat veteran. She was deployed in support of Operation Desert Storm, Operation Provide Comfort, and Operation Enduring Freedom. She holds the Meritorious Service Medal, the Combat Readiness Medal, the Southwest Asia Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, and the Humanitarian Service Medal.
Rita was the Chief of Staff to Governor Jim Geringer from 1998-2002. She has served on the UW Board of Trustees, as a member of Senator Malcolm Wallop's Service Academy Nomination Committee and as an Admissions Liaison Officer to the United States Air Force Academy and the Reserve Officers' Training Corps.
Rita is married to Dr. Charlie Meyer, a retired dentist and native of Rawlins. They have one son, Charles, a Navy LT assigned to the Pentagon as a Flag Aide, and a daughter-in-law, Emily, an export control attorney in Arlington, Virginia.
Thirtieth Treasurer of the State of Wyoming
Joe Meyer is serving his first term as State Treasurer after serving two terms as Wyoming Secretary of State. He was born in Casper, son of a rancher and a business man, with two family stores still operating in Casper. Joe graduated from Natrona County High School in 1959 and holds a BA in Math/Chemistry and Juris Doctorate from the University of Wyoming. During his college summers, Joe laid natural gas pipelines to the Sinclair Refinery and Atlantic City iron mine and worked at Casper businesses.
After graduation from UW, Joe served as deputy county attorney in Fremont County and engaged in the general practice of law including bank and school district attorney. When the Legislative Service Office was created in 1971 Joe was hired as deputy director and head of the legal division, a capacity he held through 1986 when he was appointed as Wyoming Attorney General, acting as such to 1995. Joe then served as special assistant to the President of UW until elected as Secretary of State in 1998.
Through the years, Joe has participated in community activities including membership on chambers of commerce, PTO’s, manager of his sons’ baseball teams, foundation boards, Kiwanis, Rotary, Boy Scout leader, UW Alumni Association, and Wyoming Future’s Project. Currently, he is chairman of the Laramie County Cheyenne Board of Health, a trustee of the Frontier Certified Development Company, and a member of the Board of Trustees for the Long Peak Council, tri state area, for the Boy Scouts of America.
His wife of 40 years, Mary, a Sheridan native, is currently Director of the Foundation
for the Laramie County Library. They have two sons, Vincent and Warren, and
two grandchildren, Ethan and Devan
Twentieth State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Jim McBride brings professional experience as a teacher, principal, superintendent, Air Force officer, academy instructor, technology director and community college president to his current position as Wyoming’s Superintendent of Public Instruction.
McBride started his professional career as a teacher at Caesar Rodney Junior High School in Dover, Delaware. During his tenure there, he became certified as a principal and then completed administrative duties.
In December of 1975 Jim began a career in the United States Air Force that lasted over 26 years. During his many assignments, he continued to teach and attend a number of colleges. In 1981 he completed his MBA at Louisiana Technical University, and in 1983 he was sent to the University of North Carolina, where he completed his Doctorate in Education Administration, and an internship in planetarium administration. For the next five years, he taught and held various positions at the Air Force Academy.
In 1996, Dr. McBride was selected as president of the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF). CCAF is the largest fully accredited community college in the world with 121 affiliated campuses and an enrollment that exceeds 370,000.
Jim retired from the Air Force in December 2001, and embarked on a new career as Superintendent of Schools in Bennett, Colorado. In May of 2003 he joined the Wyoming Department of Education as a technology administrator.
In August 2005 Dr. McBride was selected by Governor Dave Freudenthal to complete the unexpired term of the former State Superintendent of Public Instruction. He will oversee public education in Wyoming and also serve with the Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer and Auditor on the State Lands and Investments Board, the State Board of Deposits, and the State Building Commission. He is a member of the School Facilities Commission and is an ex-officio member of the State Board of Education, University of Wyoming Board of Trustees, and the Community College Commission.
Jim appoints members to the Wyoming Professional Teaching Standards Board. He is a member of the Montgomery Trust Fund for the Visually Impaired, the Wyoming Early Childhood Council, the Wyoming Workforce Development Council, the Wyoming Higher Education Assistance Authority, Wyoming Education Planning and Coordination Council, and numerous other boards.
He is a member of the Council of Chief State School Officers and Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning.
Jim and his wife, Sandi, have been married more than 34 years. She is a retired computer analyst. Their son, Jim, is a physicist; their daughter, Monique, practices law in Cheyenne where she lives with her husband, Nick, and their two children. Jim and Sandi are deeply appreciative of their relationship with their grandchildren, who bring joy and new meaning to every day.
Department of Education