Gov. Sanders names Leslie Fisken to lead Transformation and Shared Services

Gov. Sarah Sanders named a new cabinet member on Tuesday (Sept. 5).

Sanders announced that Leslie Fisken will serve as Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Transformation and Shared Services. Fisken is replacing Secretary Joseph Wood, who recently became chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas.

“For the past eight months, Leslie has successfully united every agency in my administration around our shared goal to make bold, transformational change for the people of Arkansas. She is a hard worker with a deep understanding of how state government works, both of which make her eminently qualified to serve as Secretary of Transformation and Shared Services,” said Sanders.

Fisken now is the director of Cabinet Affairs for Sanders. Prior to that, she was the chief of legislative affairs for the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism. She also worked in governmental relations at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and served as an education policy advisor to former Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Prior to her legislative and policy work, Fisken was a member of the Little Rock School District Board of Education.

Fisken is a graduate of Little Rock Central High School, earned a bachelor’s degree from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, and received her Juris Doctor from the William H. Bowen School of Law.

“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as Governor Sanders’ Director of Cabinet Affairs and bring together all our state agencies around her bold, conservative agenda. I’m excited to take that experience to the Department of Transformation and Shared Services, where I’ll continue my work to improve our agencies and serve the people of Arkansas,” said Fisken.