Laura Betzold

Laura Betzold first joined the University of Wyoming in 2010, serving in legal and risk management roles until 2019, and returned in 2024 as Chief Risk Officer and Senior Associate General Counsel.

 

Ms. Betzold has more than 30 years of experience in public higher education, healthcare, and state government. Her prior roles include Deputy General Counsel and Director of Legal Services for the University of Nebraska Medical Center and General Counsel and Legislative Liaison for the Nebraska Department of Administrative Services, Risk Manager for the State of Nebraska and various leadership roles in private nonprofit organizations. She has also held guest lecturer and adjunct teaching roles at the University of Nebraska Omaha and Laramie County Community College. She earned her Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degrees from Creighton University and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She is licensed to practice law in Wyoming and Nebraska and holds professional risk management certifications, including Associate in Risk Management for Public Entities and Associate in Risk Management in Enterprise Risk Management.

 

Her responsibilities include oversight of the University’s traditional and enterprise risk management programs; insurance and self-insurance programs; claims administration; and business continuity and emergency response planning. She provides legal advice and strategic guidance across the full range of administrative and higher education legal matters, with particular focus in complex regulatory, compliance, and risk-intensive areas. Her practice includes healthcare and health education, events and catering, contracts and policy development and review, and other areas of law applicable to a public, land-grant, research university.