Kelsey Reinhardt Announced as Wyoming Catholic College’s 2026 Commencement Speaker
Kelsey Reinhardt, a Wyoming native and the President and CEO of CatholicVote, an institution that advocates for Catholic principles in American politics, will deliver the Commencement Address at this year’s Commencement Ceremony, which will be held on Monday, May 18th.
“As two Wyoming natives, frequently traveling on behalf of our apostolates, our paths cross somewhat regularly,” said Fr. Dcn. Kyle Washut, the College’s president. “I have had the privilege of visiting with Kelsey a number of times over the past year, and I have been impressed by her clarity on the moral challenges confronting America today and by her generosity and gentleness toward those who do not agree with her own clear-eyed analysis of those challenges. In a recent piece for First Things, she wrote that ‘the Church insists on holding together truths that the political imagination is tempted to sever,’ which is a difficult reality to affirm in such a highly-charged political climate as ours. Her own life is a striking example of that reality, and I’m eager for our students to hear from her this May.”
Reinhardt joined CatholicVote in 2024 as Head of Media and Evangelization prior to being elevated to the top position in June 2025. A native of Gillette, Wyoming, the former Miss Basketball Wyoming was also four-time state champion in the high jump and an all-state golfer, in addition to salutatorian of Campbell County High School before she went on to letter in basketball and track for the University of Notre Dame. After earning a bachelor’s in theology there, she worked as a legislative correspondent for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), with a focus on immigration and refugee issues.
Sensing a call to religious life, she spent nearly a decade pursuing a vocation as a religious sister with the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville, turning down a scholarship to Notre Dame Law School. After discerning out of the convent, she returned to public life and a career in media, stepping into key leadership roles at EWTN News, where she helped launch the first Arabic-language Catholic news agency in Iraq. Eventually serving as executive director for the ACI group, a network of six international news agencies operated by EWTN News, she also served as Interim Executive Director of Catholic News Agency.
In addition to her bachelor’s from Notre Dame, she holds a master’s degree in theology from the Augustine Institute. She serves on the Alumni Advisory Board for the Augustine Institute and has chaired the board of FIERCE Athlete, an organization created to “empower female athletes to thrive in their God-given identity and femininity.” Kelsey lives in the Denver area with her husband, Matt, and they are expecting their first child.
