Nancy Freudenthal

First lady became Wyoming district’s first female judge

GALE M. IRWIN

For the Star-Tribune

Confident, self-su cient women influenced federal judge and former first lady of Wyoming Nancy Freudenthal at a young age and continue to do so today.

“My mother wasn’t an easy woman. Her mother worked and she worked. Having her as a role model and a compass point was important to me throughout my life,” Freudenthal said.

That significant influence included her choice in higher education. A philosophy major during her undergraduate years at the University of Wyoming, Freudenthal said her mother “was very worried” about how such a degree would be employable.

“She understood the importance of education, and she understood that sometimes, notwithstanding everyone’s hopes and abilities, things can happen to derail a woman’s plans,” Freudenthal said. “For her, it was always important to not discount the significance of family … but to have a safety net: either be working or have an ability to quickly gear up and go to work, in the event you found yourself in a situation where you had to support yourself.”

Her mother was a single parent of four.

Freudenthal refocused her education toward the practice of law.

“What I really liked about philosophy and the course of work there matched up well with law school and the demands of law school,” she said. “If you like reading, writing, reasoning and decision-making — it just really clicked for me. It served me well as a foundation to being able to express reasoning well and to understand the logic of argument and persuasion.”

She applied those skills as a lawyer and also now as the first female U.S. district judge for the District of Wyoming. In a career mostly run by men, especially in Wyoming, she found mentors on the bench and a welcoming attitude.

“All of the men on the bench were wonderful. They welcomed me into their chambers, into their courtrooms for observation, gave me materials … time and access, and just an open door to deal with any issues that were new,” she said.

Half of Freudenthal’s docket involves federal criminal cases, including those that happen on federal lands, such as Yellowstone National Park; the other half focuses on civil cases, such as accidents involving

Self-su ciency, mentorship helped Freudenthal make JUDICIAL HISTORY

COURTESY Former Wyoming first lady Nancy Freudenthal is the first female U.S. district judge for the District of Wyoming.

individuals and companies from out of state.

This role began in May 2010 after being nominated by former president Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Prior to becoming judge, Freudenthal worked as a lawyer, and during her early years, she served on the sta of former Wyoming Gov. Edgar “Ed” Herschler. She also attributed him as being a mentor and a reason for her fortitude.

“I had demanding employers. One of the toughest people who was also a mentor was Gov. Herschler. I was the only woman in his o ce who wasn’t clerical,” she said. “If you walked into his o ce, he often demanded why you were there. He wasn’t a coddler to anybody at all. Anyone who knew him knew you had be well-prepared, you had to be able to articulate yourself efficiently, you had to have to the courage to just walk in to his private o ce and interrupt him, so you had to ask yourself if this was important or not.”

She said she is grateful for the experience.

“It was a gift in that point in my life being so young to form that grit and inner fortitude, to be confident that this was an important issue, that you warranted his time and attention. That wasn’t just given, it was earned every day,” she said. “That was his method of operating … who he was, and it allowed me to quickly develop and hone skills that I’m still working on today. Those (standards) were extraordinarily helpful to me to step up and meet the demands of working in a challenging o ce. He was such an important figure in my world. It was a real honor to have known him.”

Freudenthal epitomizes a persistent work ethic. While serving as first lady of Wyoming during husband Dave’s two terms (2003 to 2011), she chose to continue working as an attorney, for which some people criticized her, she said. However, she stuck to her guns, remembering her mother’s model of self-su ciency.

“It was drilled into me, again from my mother, that women work — that’s what they do. You have to have it in yourself to step up if any wrinkle comes up … no matter how hard it is,” she said.

Family issues, especially those that affect women and children, were topics she focused on as first lady, including women’s self-su ciency, and they remain important to her today.

“Those have been important me since childhood, watching my mother as a single parent, and drilling into me the need to be self-su cient,” she said.

Freudenthal also worked on programs to reduce childhood drinking “because it seemed like that was a public health issue a ecting our children.”

Women’s self-su ciency remains important to her, and she stresses the need for women to work hard, grow in confidence and develop courage — yet remain likable.

“I think women should pursue their dreams. They need to find their voice and be comfortable with who they are,” she said. “To some degree, women have to embrace the idea that they should work harder, harder than anybody else in the room. Make yourself invaluable. Whether it’s fair or not, they have to find a way to be assertive without losing their likability. They have to be comfortable advocating, including advocating for themselves.”

She said she had to ask Herschler for an o ce and a raise.

“Being well-prepared and su ciently confident gives you the courage to approach situations that are challenging,” she said. “That demanding, exacting, positional authority (Herschler had) is something I credit as an advantage in making me who I am today.”