About — BAUERLY CONSULTING

CYNTHIA BAUERLY

“My mission is to help leaders navigate their most critical decisions and lead with purpose in our ever-changing world.”

Building on decades of leadership roles in law, management, and public policy in Washington D.C. and in Minnesota, Cynthia Bauerly provides executives, key leaders, and boards with coaching and strategic consulting as they navigate their most pressing work.

Whatever the industry or size of organization, leaders who share their vulnerability and humanity inspire their teams, build positive culture and yield better results. And yet, these qualities are the some of the hardest to deploy as a leader when faced with crisis, budget cuts, or external pressures that can threaten progress. Cynthia provides the mentoring, guidance, and coaching to support executives as they lead in these challenging times. And, to build the organization’s resilience and engagement, she offers management teams partnership and consulting to help operationalize strategy into performance.

Most recently, Cynthia served as Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Revenue from 2015 to 2020 where she led over 1,400 employees, helped Minnesotans access the economic opportunities of the tax code, and collected over $23 billion annually to fund state services. Recognizing that an inclusive and collaborative culture will benefit employees and the public they serve, Cynthia led the development and implementation of the department’s first Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan grounded in employee engagement. She was responsible for drafting and building the Governor’s tax bill as a part of the state’s budget, advocating its passage to the legislature and stakeholders, and serving as chief tax negotiator for the Governor on omnibus bills at the end of session.

Before returning to her home state of Minnesota in 2013, she spent over a decade in government and policy leadership roles in Washington, D.C. She has also worked in private practice in both Minnesota and Washington, D.C. advising clients on planning and litigation strategy.

Cynthia earned a B.A. from Concordia College in Moorhead, a J.D. from Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington, and a M.P.A. from Indiana University’s School of Environmental and Public Affairs. She grew up in central Minnesota and now lives in Minneapolis with her husband and their dog, Kiko.

Previous Roles

Deputy Commissioner of Workforce Development
Cynthia served as Deputy Commissioner of Workforce Development at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) where she led over 1,200 employees working to providing economic security for transitioning workers and workforce training and readiness. In response to the difficult labor market that emerged after the great recession, she convened stakeholders from non-profits, local governments, and employers to creating new ways to build skills needed by employers and connect workers to them. By launching innovative partnerships with employers, workers were able to quickly identify opportunities and enroll in the needed training and development.
Commissioner
From 2008 to 2013, Bauerly served as a Commissioner of the U.S. Federal Election Commission and as Chair of the agency in 2011. She managed the federal agency charged with campaign finance enforcement, including the budget and management of personnel. In this role, she also spoke publicly on her campaign finance agenda, testified before Congress, and served as an instructor for a wide-range of campaign finance topics.
Legislative Director
As Legislative Director for Sen. Chuck Schumer in the United States Senate, she developed and implemented a broad policy agenda that included working with the Senate Rules, Judiciary, and Finance Committees and the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. She navigated the public legislative process work with federal agencies, state partners, and constituents to achieve policy changes through legislation and in less formal ways.