Kirsten Rappleye was appointed as Director of First Lady’s initiatives in January 2021. In her role, she oversees Utah First Lady Abby Cox’s initiatives. 

Prior to this appointment Rappleye served for three years as Chief of Staff to then-Lt. Governor Spencer J. Cox, coordinating his work on over 30 boards and commissions and policy initiatives related to suicide prevention, mental health, homelessness, women’s leadership, opioid abuse prevention, rural economic development, volunteerism, STEM education and legislative relations.

Rappleye joined the Herbert/Cox administration in 2016 when she was appointed as Public Information Officer to Governor Gary R. Herbert, leading out on media relations, coordinating the Governor’s message across state agencies and crafting communications strategy for the administration.

Earlier in her career, she served as the Majority Assistant to the Utah State Senate, where she oversaw caucus directives, implemented leadership priorities, managed communications strategy, media relations and social media, and supervised both the leadership intern program and constituent services staff team.

A native Utahn, Rappleye graduated from Utah State University in Law and Constitutional Studies. Rappleye is passionate about mentoring youth, devouring audiobooks​ and podcasts​, and ​trying to keep up with her renaissance man of a husband at skiing, biking, swimming, ​​gardening​ and cooking​.

Most of all, she enjoys ​spending time adventuring with her husband and chasing their energetic children — often at the same time.