Shawn T. Wooden was sworn-in as Connecticut’s 83rd State Treasurer on January 9, 2019, following a successful 21-year career as an investment attorney and service as City Council President of Hartford, Connecticut.
Born and raised in Hartford, Treasurer Wooden participated in a desegregation busing program and attended public school in the suburb of Hartford. After graduating with honors, he earned a four-year academic scholarship to Trinity College. He later attended New York University School of Law before moving back to his hometown of Hartford to begin his career at Day Pitney, LLP (formerly Day, Berry & Howard LLP), where he would go on to become a Partner and lead its public pension plan investment practice.
He has been recognized as a Connecticut Super Lawyer for Securities and Corporate Finance, Business/Corporate. Pensions and Investments named him one of the “25 Investment Professionals to Watch” and Savoy Magazine identified him as one of the most influential Black lawyers in the country.
Treasurer Wooden is the sole trustee of the $37 billion Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, administers a $26 billion debt management program, manages over $25 billion in annual cash transactions and has a seat on 25 quasi-governmental authorities, boards and commissions related to housing, finance, student loans, air and water ports, venture capital, the lottery, private sector retirement security and a hosts of other areas.
He is the only Black elected State Treasurer in the country and the only Black elected official serving statewide in New England. He was also recently elected by his peers to serve as the Senior Vice President of the National Association of State Treasurers.
