Shelley Zumwalt, director of tourism and recreation, on April 2 talks about solar eclipse preparations. (Photo by Janelle Stecklein/Oklahoma Voice)
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation Executive Director Shelley Zumwalt on Thursday announced her retirement months after she was called on to resign in the wake of a scathing audit.
Zumwalt has led the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation since October 2022. She said she is retiring to pursue a career in the private sector but will remain in her job until Oct. 11 to help with the transition.
A spokesperson for the tourism agency said she did not know if a severance agreement was involved and could not find out until next week at the earliest.
Zumwalt declined to comment further. Her office referred to a press release which outlined her accomplishments and did not mention the audit’s findings.
“I will always look back on my time in service with deep appreciation and admiration for the dedicated employees I have had the privilege to work alongside over my time with the state of Oklahoma,” she said in the press release.
Gov. Kevin Stitt tapped Zumwalt to lead the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission and then the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation.
In April, State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd released a scathing audit questioning how the state used the pandemic relief funds.
Zumwalt’s husband worked for a company that had a contract with the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.
At the time, Attorney General Gentner Drummond said it was “wholly inappropriate and potentially unlawful” for Zumwalt to use her position “to approve millions of dollars in contracts for a software company where her husband was vice president.”
He called on Zumwalt to resign immediately and cooperate fully with his agency’s investigation seeking to determine whether any laws were broken.
Zumwalt denied wrongdoing and refused to resign.
“Ms. Zumwalt’s resignation was the proper thing to do, even if it took six months after my initial call for her to step down from her position,” Drummond said Friday. “Self-dealing is an unacceptable breach of the public trust and must be a disqualification from public office.”
Zumwalt said months ago that she had disclosed the connection and was told it wasn’t a problem because her husband didn’t work on the contract, which was awarded before she went to work for the OESC in May 2020.
Subsequent contracting and payments were transacted by OESC, although the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, where Zumwalt worked at the time, awarded the original no-bid contract.
By April 2022, Zumwalt had approved additional contracts and change orders to the company totaling $8.5 million, according to the audit.
Zumwalt was required to complete annual forms attesting that no related party transactions existed. She checked “no” on the forms, according to the audit.
A spokesperson for the tourism department did not respond to a request Friday for Zumwalt’s current salary and age.
At one point, she was earning $265,000 at the agency, according to a report released by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.
Stitt said Friday that he was grateful for Zumwalt’s service.
“She was a fighter for Oklahoma Tourism and worked hard to promote our state,” he said. “I wish her the best in her future endeavors.”
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