Diana Jean Ohman (born October 3, 1950) is a retired politician who served as Secretary of State of Wyoming from 1995 until 1999. Earlier in her career, Ohman held various educational positions throughout Wyoming. Ohman served as Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1991 to 1995 before being elected

Wyoming Secretary of State The secretary of state of Wyoming is the state secretary of state of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is a constitutional office, established under the Constitution of Wyoming and the secretary of state accedes to the governorship in case of a vac ...

in 1994. After declining to run for a second term in 1998, Ohman led several divisions of the

Department of Defense Education Activity The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a federal school system headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, responsible for planning, directing, coordinating, and managing prekindergarten through 12th grade educational programs on behal ...

from 1999 to 2011 and later joined the

Department of Veteran Affairs Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...

before retiring in 2018.

Early life and education

On October 3, 1950, Ohman was born in

Sheridan, Wyoming Sheridan is a town in the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Sheridan County. The town is located halfway between Yellowstone Park and Mount Rushmore by U.S. Route 14 and 16. It is the principal town of the Sheridan, Wyoming, Micropol ...

and later moved to Gurley, Nebraska. After graduating from Gurley High School, Ohman attended

Casper College Casper College is a public community college in Casper, Wyoming. It is one of the largest and most comprehensive community colleges in the region. Established in 1945 as Wyoming's first junior college and initially located on the third floor o ...

. She later attended the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

, receiving degrees in both

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...

and administration.

Career

Ohman briefly worked in

Casper, Wyoming Casper is a city in, and the county seat of, Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the second-largest city in the state, with the population at 59,038 as of the 2020 census. Only Cheyenne, the state capital, is larger. Casper is nic ...

as a

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

teacher. She later held various educational positions within the state, first in

Gillette Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gil ...

before moving to Torrington to become a school principal. In 1990, Ohman defeated incumbent Democratic State Superintendent of Public Instruction Lynn Simons. During her tenure, Ohman proposed that the

Wyoming School for the Deaf The Wyoming School for the Deaf was a school for deaf elementary students located in Casper, Wyoming, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Con ...

be shut down. The decision never materialized, however, as both Ohman and the Wyoming State Legislature decided that the school remain open the following year. Ohman announced in April 1994 that she would not run for re-election, instead choosing to run for Secretary of State of Wyoming. In the general election, Ohman defeated Democratic nominee Nick Deegan. During her term, Ohman co-created a plan to redistribute legislative seats in Wyoming using Global Information System software. Ohman was also involved in creating awareness about

securities fraud Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a deceptive practice in the stock or commodities markets that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequently resulting in los ...

and a Secretary of State website for Wyoming. Ohman was a write-in candidate for the Governor of Wyoming position during the 1998 election and did not run again as Secretary of State. After her term ended, Ohman became a school superintendent in

Laramie County, Wyoming Laramie County is a county located at the southeast corner of the U.S. state, state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 100,512 or 17.4% of the state's total 2020 population, making it the List of counties in Wyo ...

. In July 1999, Ohman started her time as a deputy director of the

(DoDEA). She led the organization's European division before being selected to lead the DoDEA's Pacific division in 2009. She remained with the DoDEA until she joined the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2011. With the National Cemetery Administration department, Ohman was in charge of cemeteries throughout the Midwestern United States until retiring in 2018.

Awards and honors

As an educator, Ohman was named the best teacher for Campbell County, Wyoming in 1980 and given a 1990 state principal award from the

U.S. Office of Education The Office of Education, at times known as the Department of Education and the Bureau of Education, was a small unit in the Federal Government of the United States within the U.S. Department of the Interior from 1867 to 1972. It is now separated ...

. For her contributions in education, Ohman was given an alumni award by Casper College Foundation in 2009.

Personal life

Ohman is married and has no children.Roberts ed. 2008, p. 26

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohman, Diana 1950 births schoolteachers from Wyoming Superintendents of Public Instruction of Wyoming Secretaries of State of Wyoming United States Department of Veterans Affairs officials Living people Wyoming Republicans