Manly Wilder
Chief Deputy Secretary,
N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Secretary Dee Freeman promoted Manly Wilder, formerly DENR’s assistant secretary for Natural Resources, as the department’s new chief deputy/chief operating officer in March 2009. Responsibilities of the department’s chief deputy secretary include coordinating the agency's budget and management functions with its programmatic activities.
Manly, who has a bachelor’s degree in crop science from N.C. State University and a master’s degree in administration from George Washington University, began his work with DENR as the director of the Division of Soil and Water Conservation in 2005. He became the department's assistant secretary for Natural Resources in 2007. Prior to working at DENR, he served in a variety of key roles during a 35-year career with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. He began his career as a district conservationist in Snow Hill and held positions with NRCS in Pennsylvania and Virginia before retiring from the agency as deputy chief for strategic planning and budget analysis in Washington, D.C. A native of Nash County, Manly and his wife Peggy live in Raleigh.