NASCA Press Release: Morgan Gruebele Announced as 2026 20 Under 40 Award Winner
For Immediate Release
May 14, 2026
Contact: Elizabeth Whitehouse, Executive Director, executivedirector@nasca.org
NASCA Press Release: Morgan Gruebele Announced as 2026 20 Under 40 Award Winner
Pierre, SD — The National Association of State Chief Administrators is proud to announce Morgan Gruebele, Director of the Executive Management Finance Office at the South Dakota Bureau of Finance and Management (BFM), as a 2026 NASCA 20 Under 40 Award recipient.
The NASCA 20 Under 40 Award recognizes 20 exceptional young leaders from across the country who are making significant contributions to state government. Our 2026 honorees represent the very best of public service – exemplifying innovation, collaboration, and a dedication to improving the lives of those they serve every single day.
In her role as Director of the Executive Management Finance Office, Gruebele serves not just one, but three bureaus and the widely varied and complex central organizations within South Dakota state government. Because she serves three bureaus, she constantly deals with three sets of goals – not all of which initially align with the overarching needs of the state budget. Gruebele leverages her experience as the former Chief Budget analyst to gain support, not simply compliance, with the priorities set by the Governor.
The Executive Management Finance Office provides support for budgeting, accounting, and complicated rate setting. This requires Gruebele and her team to not only understand the work, from software development to custodial services, but also the requirements for creating fair rates paid by general, federal, and other funds and the compliance issues this creates. But even more impressive is her skill at communicating how the rates work to agency finance directors and how to plan for those charges.
Upon nominating Gruebele, Darin Seeley, 2026 NASCA President and Commissioner of the South Dakota Bureau of Human Resources and Administration, highlighted Gruebele’s commitment to partnership and collaboration.
“Morgan Gruebele is the exemplar of service, solutions, and partnership.” Seeley continued, “Morgan is a phenomenal partner who has no limit to the impact she can make. She is deserving of this recognition, because all too often the work she does is invisible. She intentionally does it without making herself the star, giving credit to everyone else.”
A dynamic and people-first leader, Gruebele’s dedication to public service reflects the values recognized by the NASCA 20 Under 40 Award. NASCA celebrates her selection as a 20 Under 40 recipient, and we look forward to her continued work advancing excellence in state government operations.
Founded in 1976, NASCA is the nation’s only nonpartisan, nonprofit organization serving chief administrative officers or CAOs. NASCA provides a forum for state chief administrative officers to exchange information and learn new ideas from each other and private sector partners. NASCA engages states in transforming government operations through shared knowledge, operational excellence, and thought leadership.
For more information on NASCA, please visit NASCA.org.
