In November of 2023 Adam Payne abruptly stepped down as Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
The position has remained vacant since Payne’s departure, leaving this key state agency without its top leader.
On Monday, Governor Evers announced he’s turned to an experienced environmental activist to helm the agency. She’s a wealthy Madison resident who currently works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within the Department of Commerce in Washington, DC.
Evers has selected Dr. Karen Hyun to serve as the secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
“Dr. Hyun’s extensive science background and expertise working in fish and wildlife, shoreline restoration, and coastal management and resilience will make her a great asset to the Department of Natural Resources and to our administration,” said Gov. Evers in a written announcement released Monday. “Having spent most of her career working in environmental policy, Dr. Hyun brings a wealth of experience navigating many of the issues the department is charged with managing every day, and I’m so excited for her to get started.”
Hyun previously served as the vice president for coastal conservation at the National Audubon Society (annual salary: $222,561) and was a senior policy adviser at NOAA during the Obama administration.
As of 2022, according to public financial disclosure forms, she and her husband owned rental properties valued between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000. They also earned over $1,000,000 in annual income from stock in privately/family- held S Corp, (Steel Investment Company).According to a news release, Hyun lives with her husband and children in Madison. In 2022 her husband earned $570,423 in compensation from Wells Fargo. Hyun has an estimated net worth of between $5,700,000 and $16,800,000.
In the most recent election she was a major donor to the campaigns of Kamala Harris and Tammy Baldwin.
Hyun would have her hands full on day one. At the start of 2024, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) forecasted a $16 million shortfall in its Fish and Wildlife fund, sparking worries over the clarity and efficiency of how conservation funds are managed and expended within the DNR.
According to information released by Evers, Hyun began her career in 2009, staffing the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Natural Resources. In 2012, Hyun served as a senior policy advisor for the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of the Secretary and also the chief of staff position for the Department’s Office of the Deputy Secretary in 2013. Hyun then became the senior advisor for NOAA in June 2014 before becoming the deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife, and parks at the Department of the Interior in 2015.
More on Dr. Hyun
Biden selects NOAA political team as decision on next agency head looms | Washington Post
