The other side — Blackwell hopes to make positive impact

Beth Blackwell, a longtime state grant and loan administrator, has crossed over to the municipal side as Newcastle’s first grant manager after more than a decade with the Office of State Lands and Investments.

As previously reported, the Newcastle City Council voted to offer conditional employment to Blackwell for $81,000 a year, or $39 an hour. She was set to start July 14 and will be responsible for writing and managing grants.

Blackwell, who lives in Cheyenne and will work remotely, said she decided it was time for a change after Greg Stumpff, public works supervisor, approached her about the opportunity with the city.

“It felt like the right fit at the right time,” she said in an email, noting that the last five years had been “particularly challenging, both professionally and personally.”

“The addition of federally funded programs to my responsibilities came without additional staffing, and during this time, I also experienced the profound loss of both of my parents,” Blackwell said. “I wanted to find a position where I could continue to make a positive impact by helping get important community projects funded, but in a way that allowed for better work/life balance.”

In her new role, Blackwell said, her goal is to help the city secure funding “to support as many vital projects as
possible.”

“While I’m new to working on the municipal side, I bring a solid foundation in grant and loan program administration and am excited to apply that experience in a new context,” she said. “There’s certainly a learning curve, but I’m ready for the challenge. I hope that my ability to think creatively and ‘outside the box’ will lead to identifying new funding sources or innovative funding strategies that benefit the community long term.”

That foundation, she said, comes from years of administering a variety of state grants.

“I was responsible for administering numerous statutorily authorized grant and loan programs through the State Loan and Investment Board, including the Mineral Royalty Grant, Transportation Enterprise Account, Capital Construction Loan, and the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs,” Blackwell said. “I am especially proud of successfully overseeing the programs established to distribute federal funds from the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan Act, ensuring timely and impactful disbursement to Wyoming communities during a critical period.”

Before becoming grants and loans manager for the Office of State Lands and Investments in 2012, Blackwell worked in other areas of finance.

After graduating from the University of Wyoming in December 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in business management and a minor in finance, she went to work for the Wyoming Department of Audit as an auditor in the Minerals Division. Eighteen months later, she transitioned to the Division of Banking, where she spent more than a decade as a bank examiner.

“In that role, I completed FDIC Examination Training and earned certification in all key areas of bank examinations — including operations, asset management and regulatory compliance,” Blackwell said. “I developed a specialization in Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering examinations.”

With her background, both Stumpff and Mayor Tyrel Owens said they are excited to add Blackwell to the staff.

“This is going to be huge for the city of Newcastle if we pass this,” Owens said on July 7 as the council considered the motion to hire Blackwell. “She’s just fantastic. She’s super sharp and she knows where to find all the money so that we can get our projects done.”