Kathy Karpan

Kathy Karpan
Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
In office August 4, 1997 – April 10, 2000
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Kay Henry
Succeeded by	Kay Henry
17th Secretary of State of Wyoming
In office January 5, 1987[1] – January 2, 1995[2]
Governor	Mike Sullivan
Preceded by	Thyra Thomson
Succeeded by	Diana Ohman
Director of the Wyoming Department of Health and Social Services
In office December 1984 – June 5, 1986
Governor	Edgar Herschler
Personal details
Born	(1942-09-01) September 1, 1942 (age 81) Rock Springs, Wyoming, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	University of Wyoming (BA, MA) University of Oregon (JD)
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Kathleen Marie Karpan^[3] (born September 1, 1942) is an American politician who served as secretary of state of Wyoming from 1987 to 1995, and as the director of the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement from 1997 to 2000. A member of the Democratic Party, she unsuccessfully ran for Wyoming's governor and United States senator as the Democratic nominee in 1994 and 1996, respectively. She is the most recent Democrat to serve as Wyoming Secretary of State or any other statewide officeaside from Dave Freudenthal's service as Governor from 2003 to 2011.

Karpan was born in Rock Springs, Wyoming, and grew up in both Rock Springs and Rawlins. She received bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Wyoming and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Oregon School of Law. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Karpan worked for Representative Teno Roncalio as his staff assistant and press secretary. From 1979 to 1986, Karpan worked in the United States Department of Commerce and the office of the Wyoming Attorney General, and served as director of the Wyoming Department of Health and Social Services. She also served as a campaign manager for Rodger McDaniel during the 1982 United States Senate election in Wyoming. Karpan was the Democratic nominee in the 1994 gubernatorial and 1996 Senate elections, but lost both elections to Republicans Jim Geringer and Mike Enzi, respectively.

In 1997, Karpan was appointed by President Bill Clinton, whose presidential campaigns she had supported, to serve as the first female director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. In early 2000, she stepped down and took another position in the interior department, while applying for another job that raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest. Upon the end of the Clinton administration in 2001, Karpan returned to her law practice in Cheyenne. She has continued to support Democratic presidential and state campaigns.