Sheila Coyle
Community Leader

Sheila Coyle served as Wisconsin’s first-lady from 1983-1987.  Unlike previous Wisconsin first ladies, Sheila Coyle (Earl) continued her career while fulfilling the duties of first lady.  In 1978 she began working for the University of Wisconsin, at the Robert M. LaFollete Institute of Public Affairs.  She spent the next fifteen years directing outreach initiatives that brought University resources and expertise to the aide of governmental decision-makers on important policy issues like poverty, public health, and economic development.  Sheila then spent five years in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she became familiar with issues like biogenetics and environmental impacts of food production.

Sheila continues to be actively engaged in community organizations in the Madison and Bayfield areas.  She is a member of the Bayfield Regional Conservancy and is a founding member of the Wisconsin Women Forward for Environmental Education.

Sheila Coyle considers conservation a part of who she is.  She is proud to have raised four daughters that not only enjoy and respect the natural world, but also understand their role in sustaining it. She is especially passionate about water resource issues and recreational opportunities.  Sheila spends her summers in the Bayfield area where she enjoys hiking and being out on Lake Superior in her sea kayak.

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