Sara Needles to lead Cultural Resources

Governor Freudenthal has appointed Sara Needles as the new administrator of Wyoming's Division of Cultural Resources in Cheyenne. She will oversee the five agencies within the division, which includes the Wyoming Arts Council.

Sara is a Wyoming native, born in Laramie. She attended UW, earning a degree in Anthropology in 1998 and a Masters of Arts in Anthropology in 2005. She worked for UW as an archaeologist for five years before joining state government. She began working for the State Historic Preservation Office in 2002. She's served as the State Historic Preservation Officer since November 2005.

As division administrator, she will serve on the board of the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund which provides funding programs to develop and preserve Wyoming's cultural heritage, and will serve on the Wyoming Historic Mine Trails and Byways Commission, established in 2005 by the late State Senator Robert Peck.

Here's a quote from Sara: "Throughout my career I have always focused on how cultural resources can enrich the lives of all people. I believe that experiencing our shared cultural heritage is a privilege every Wyoming citizen should have. As the State Historic Preservation Officer, I had the opportunity to promote the preservation and interpretation of historic and prehistoric resources. As Administrator over the Cultural Resources Division, I embrace the opportunity to enhance the public's ability to experience all of Wyoming's cultural treasures through the arts, museums, and historic preservation."