Kimberly Murnieks was appointed Director of the Office of Budget and Management by Governor Mike DeWine on January 14, 2019. Serving as the Chief Financial Officer for the state of Ohio under the leadership of Governor DeWine, she oversees an office that develops, coordinates and monitors the individual budgets of state agencies, provides the Governor and administration with policy analysis, and reviews all financial transactions made with public funds.

Director Murnieks also serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the National Association of State Budget Officers, representing the Midwest Region.

From January 2011 through 2018, Director Murnieks was the Chief Operating Officer for the Ohio Attorney General’s office overseeing Budget and Finance, Information Technology, Human Resources, General Services, Records Management, Internal Audit and Risk Management. Under her leadership, the office reduced bureaucracy by more than 40 percent, rebuilt the entire IT infrastructure, and invested in the state crime lab reducing turn-around time on DNA testing from four months to 22 days.

She also designed and implemented then-Attorney General DeWine’s award-winning CyberOhio Initiative to help Ohio businesses prevent and prepare for cyber-attacks, and worked with the Ohio General Assembly to enact the state’s Data Protection Act, a one-of-kind statute that provides real incentive for businesses to safeguard consumer data.

Prior to joining the Attorney General’s leadership team, Director Murnieks served in senior staff roles at the Ohio Department of Education from 2000 to 2010, including Executive Director overseeing the Center for School Options and Finance, Chief Program Officer for the EdChoice Scholarship, Policy Advisor for the Office of Information Technology and Deputy Chief of Staff.

Her career in public service began as a Budget Analyst with the Office of Budget and Management in 1996 where she was responsible for working with multiple state agencies throughout the state budget planning and implementation process. She also assisted with state oversight of school districts in fiscal emergency status.

Director Murnieks is a summa cum laude graduate of Marietta College with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, and is a graduate of The Ohio State University’s John Glenn College of Public Affairs with a Master of Public Administration specializing in Public Finance. She also is an American Mensa member. She volunteers with Girl Scouts of the USA as a troop leader, a certified canoe instructor, a service unit manager and a delegate to the National Council representing Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland Council.

Director Murnieks is originally from Washington County, Ohio and currently resides in Central Ohio with her husband and three children.