Treasurer's Biography

Treasurer Shawn T. Wooden

Shawn Wooden was elected State Treasurer on November 6, 2018, following a successful 21-year career as an investment attorney specializing in public pension plans.  He was sworn-in as Connecticut's 83rd State Treasurer on January 9, 2019. In October 2019 Treasurer Wooden was elected as Secretary-Treasurer of the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST), and assumed the role Jan. 1, 2020.  

Prior to taking office as State Treasurer, he was a partner in a major law firm where he led its public pension plan investment practice and was a member of the Investment Section of the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys.

Early in his legal career, he worked  in the AFL-CIO's Office of Investment in Washington, D.C. From 2011 to 2015, Treasurer Wooden served as President of the Hartford City Council. He also was a member of the Connecticut Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board, which interprets and enforces the state's ethics laws and oversees the Connecticut Office of State Ethics.

Treasurer Wooden's passion for public service began at home. He was born and raised in the north end of Hartford as the youngest of six children. From an early age, his parents taught him the importance of a good education, hard work and giving back to your community. His father owned a television repair and record shop, and as a child, Treasurer Wooden participated in a de-segregation busing program attending Manchester Public Schools, where he graduated high school with honors. His mother was a teachers' aide in a program to prepare preschool-aged children for school, and later worked at the Community Renewal Team as part of their lead poison prevention and energy assistance programs for low-income families. He went on to earn a four-year academic scholarship to Trinity College in Hartford, where he now serves as a member of its Board of Trustees.

Upon college graduation, Treasurer Wooden worked for the Mayor of Hartford and then as Connecticut Director of Project Vote, a national voter registration and education program. He also served as a key aide to the Connecticut Commissioner of Social Services. He later attended New York University School of Law before beginning his career at Day Pitney. Super Lawyers magazine designated him a Connecticut Super Lawyer for Securities and Corporate Finance, Business/Corporate. Pensions and Investments named him one of the "Twenty-Five Investment Professionals to Watch," and Savoy magazine named him as one of the most influential black lawyers in the country.

Treasurer Wooden is the proud father of two teenage sons.

-- Revised January 2020