Shantel Krebs

A LIFELONG DEDICATION OF SERVICE TO OTHERS

1973 • CATEGORY

POLITICAL • RESIDING

CANTON, SD • NOMINATED BY

MICHAEL LUKEN With a servant’s heart and businessperson’s head, Shantel Krebs has dedicated her life to improving the lives of those around her.

Shantel has had a successful career in the healthcare industry, business consulting and entrepreneurship, a decade in the SD Legislature, and was South Dakota’s 28th Secretary of State. She previously served in the South Dakota House of Representatives and South Dakota Senate. She then created and led the Avera Academy, a pipeline initiative that encourages first generation American students to develop a passion for careers in healthcare.

Shantel was born in South Dakota and graduated from Arlington High School in 1991. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Dakota State University. She has been honored as a Dakota State University Distinguished Alumnus and has delivered commencement addresses to graduating classes of DSU.

Shortly after college, Shantel began her formal public service with a ten-year run in the South Dakota Legislature including leadership posts in both the House and Senate. She broke barriers and led the efforts for landmark legislation in agriculture and highway funding. She has introduced and passed over 500 pieces of legislation and blazed trails by being the first woman to chair the House Transportation Committee and one of the first women to chair the powerful Ag Committee. While serving in the legislature, Shantel owned two retail businesses in downtown Sioux Falls.

In 2014, Shantel answered a call to action when the office of the Secretary of State fell into operational and legal despair and needed to be overhauled to restore the confidence

of every South Dakotan. She also completely revamped the office to a service-oriented approach with a revolutionary business plan and zero-based budgeting that led to the highest revenues for the office to date and millions of dollars returned to the state’s general fund. She was often quoted saying, “we need to operate at the speed of business, not at the speed of government.” Shantel also registered the highest number of voters at the time (545,000) of the Secretary of State’s office with her Value the Vote tour.

After Shantel finished her term as South Dakota Secretary of State, she returned to the private sector and found two roles that would satisfy her desire to serve and improve lives by working for Avera Health, while volunteering with the Miss America Organization – an entity that holds a special place in Shantel’s heart as she was Miss South Dakota 1997.

The Avera Academy now has a multi-year track record of success in helping identify, train, and employ the brightest young minds in healthcare roles – many of them first-generation Americans. Shantel was tasked to create the Academy from the ground up and now, it stands as an initiative that’s being replicated within and outside of healthcare and is a game-changer in solving the workforce shortage crisis following the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Not resting on her laurels and success of the Avera Academy, Shantel once again answered a call to action to get involved with an organization that needed her skillset during tough times: Miss America. A seat on the national board quickly turned into a chair position on that board, then to an emergency appointment as CEO of the organization. In that volunteer role, Shantel led Miss America in surviving financial dire straits during the pandemic. Her leadership evolved the mission to better suit the aspirations of America’s young women and increased scholarship dollars to record levels. Miss America remains the largest scholarship organization for women in the world, with over $5 million awarded each year, including hundreds of women in South Dakota who had their college paid for by the Miss America Organization. By utilizing her strong business sense, Shantel reimagined the inner workings of the organization and has transferred many services supporting The Miss America Organization to South Dakota.