Frankfort, KY – Stephanie Appel will take over as Assistant Director of Personnel for the Kentucky Department of Corrections upon the retirement of longtime Personnel Director Lee Sheetinger. Sheetinger is retiring from the Department on May 31.

Appel’s promotion is effective May 1. As acting director, she will be in charge of the Division of Personnel Services, and direct the administration of personnel and payroll programs for the Department of Corrections over 4,000 employees.

“Since my tenure with the Department of Corrections over the past 16 months, Stephanie Appel has worked very hard,” said Commissioner John D. Rees. “She is very deserving of this opportunity for advancement.”

Appel began her career in 1995 in the Finance and Administration Cabinet where she worked until coming to the Department of Corrections’ Division of Personnel Services in June 2000. She has held such positions as Personnel Management Specialist III, Personnel Administrator and most recently, Personnel Branch Manager.

Sheetinger has over 35 years in the field of Human Resource Management, the last five with the Department of Corrections. He previously worked in the Department of Parks and Cabinet for Human Resources before retiring in 1999 and he also served as the personnel director and assistant to the city manager in Frankfort for many years. He is also a former professor at Sullivan University.

Appel is a native of Shelbyville and a graduate of Shelby County High School.  She attended Midway College and the University of Kentucky where she received her bachelor’s in business administration.

She and her husband, Dr. James E. Appel, a Dermatologist in Lexington, currently live in Lexington.  She is the daughter of Ronnie and Joanna Freels, who currently reside in Shelbyville.

Appel is the current president of the Kentucky chapter of International Personnel Managers Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR) and she has been on their executive board for the past five years.

She is also on the Kentucky Personnel Council, a member of the American Correctional Association (ACA), a member of the International Chapter of IPMA-HR, a 2004-2005 Site Selection Committee Member for the IPMA-HR Southern Region, and a 2004-2005 Futures Goals and Appropriations Committee Member for IPMA-HR Southern Region.

Appel is also an active member of the Lexington-Fayette County Medical Society Auxiliary.