State risk manager Brett E. Dahl thrives in Montana location

Brett E. Dahl/ ERIC WORDAL

Brett E. Dahl came to Montana in 1990 to lead the state's risk management efforts after working in hospital administration and in the Texas State Insurance Commissioner's Office in Austin, Texas.

Originally from Utah, where he received a master's degree in health administration from Brigham Young University in 1986, Mr. Dahl said he missed the Rocky Mountains. Moreover, his wife was a Montana native.

“When my wife brought me home to Montana to meet her parents for the first time, it was love at first sight,” Mr. Dahl said. “I immediately fell in love with Montana.”

“Call it "luck' or "fate,' but I found out about the Montana risk manager job while attending a family reunion in Helena, and here I am 23 years later,” Mr. Dahl said.

While in Texas, Mr. Dahl discovered he had an aptitude for working with insurance underwriters, attorneys and finance staff, and it whetted his appetite to pursue a career in risk management.

He and his wife, Debbie, have sons Ryan and Tyler and daughter Kristin in Montana, where this tight-knit family enjoys hiking, camping, hunting and fishing.

“I am very fortunate to have a supportive wife and wonderful children who have tolerated my frequent absences from home and my love of everything outdoors,” Mr. Dahl said. Montana has “some of the most scenic and primitive country in the lower 48, and it's right here in my backyard.”