Shawn Reese was born in Cheyenne. After graduating from Central High School, he attended the University of Wyoming and received a BS in Sociology and master’s work in planning. He married Amiee Case in 1996. Reese’s career has been marked by public service, planning and development. In 2003 he began a long tenure with the Wyoming Business Council (WBC) which was then in its infancy. There he developed and grew the Business Ready Community Grant and Loan Program. Governor Mead hired Reese in January 2011 to serve as his policy director and energy advisor. In 2014 he went back to the WBC as CEO, overseeing a $34 million-dollar annual budget and 45 employees. In 2019, Amiee took a job in her hometown of Laramie as a gift officer for the UW Foundation. Seeing this as an opportune time for change, Reese left the WBC and now is the Chief Operations Officer for Wyoming Humanities. Shawn and Amiee have two children, Clara and Owen, both of whom attend the University of Wyoming.