Meet Sarah
Secretary Sarah Godlewski is a fifth generation Wisconsinite from Eau Claire. She is a pragmatic leader who has an impressive career in both government and business. Appointed by Governor Evers as the 29th Secretary of State of Wisconsin, Sarah made history by becoming only the third woman to hold this esteemed position.
Prior to becoming Secretary of State, Sarah successfully led a bipartisan coalition to save the State Treasurer Office after politicians tried to remove the office through a ballot initiative. Sarah was elected and served as the Wisconsin State Treasurer from 2019-2023. In this role, she prioritized economic opportunities and building wealth by creating a program that supports first-time homebuyers and assists Wisconsinites facing foreclosure. Further, she was recognized for her leadership developing a child savings account program called 401(K)ids. As the State’s Chief Financial Officer, Sarah fostered taxpayer transparency by creating the first-ever taxpayer reports and a task force of local treasurers that developed a property tax portal to assist taxpayers.
As chair of the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, Sarah leads a $1.4 billion trust fund that provides essential resources to Wisconsin public schools and invests in local communities. Sarah started as chair for the BCPL in 2019 as State Treasurer and was re-elected to this position in 2023 as Secretary of State. Since Sarah’s tenure on the BCPL, the fund has provided record-breaking distributions to public schools annually and has invested in over 600 community projects. When the pandemic hit, Sarah led the fund to provide an additional $5.25 million to Wisconsin schools to support remote learning and address the digital divide.
Prior to her public service, Sarah co-founded MaSa Partners, an impact investment firm that invests in early-stage, mission-driven, businesses. She also served as a founding member of WE Capital Fund, which empowers female entrepreneurs through financing opportunities and separately supported micro lending work in rural India – in both experiences she saw how access to capital can transform communities.
Sarah started her career supporting the Pentagon for nearly a decade where she helped save taxpayers millions of dollars. She graduated with a degree in peace and conflict resolution from George Mason University and was a national security fellow with the Air War College. She has a Certificate in Public Treasury Management from the National Institute of Public Finance and Pepperdine School of Management. Sarah loves spending time outdoors with her husband Max, son Hartley, and their rescue dog Tanner. In addition, Sarah enjoys cheering on Wisconsin sports teams and is a proud Packers shareholder.