Joleen Chaney Biography
Joleen Chaney is an American journalist working as the chief communications officer for the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Previously, she worked for KFOR for over a decade, leaving the station in November 2025.
Joleen Chaney Education
Chaney joined Cameron University after finishing her education at Spring High School. She later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication-Broadcast Journalism. She has a Master of Business Administration degree in Health Care Administration and Management from the University of Texas at Tyler.
Chaney pursued her Executive Education Certificate Program at The Wharton School from 2025 to 2026. Also, she is pursuing a Master’s in Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University and is set to graduate in 2027.
Joleen Chaney Career
Chaney works as the chief communications officer for the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Previously, she worked for KFOR for over a decade, leaving the station in November 2025. She initially started her tenure with the station in June 2007 as a weekend writer and assignment editor. She spent 4 months at KFOR before moving to KAUZ-TV in Wichita Falls as a morning anchor right after college.
Following her time in Wichita Falls, Chaney returned to KFOR as the 10 p.m. reporter and weekend anchor. During this time, she covered breaking news, crime, politics, health, and general assignment stories. Also, she won a National Emmy and two Regional Emmys for covering the 2013 Moore tornado. Moreover, she received recognition from the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Associated Press.
Chaney left KFOR again and joined News 9 in Oklahoma City, where she broadcast breaking news, crime, politics, health, and general assignment stories as the 10 p.m. reporter and fill-in anchor. She returned to KFOR as a weeknight anchor at 4, 6, & 10 p.m. Moreover, she produced and anchored “Pay It Forward” franchise.
Chaney has participated in races and emceed some races all over the state, as well as offering her time and efforts in events benefiting Oklahoma nonprofits. She completed a half-ironman triathlon, hence assisting in raising several thousand dollars for the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society in Oklahoma in 2011. She has also participated in events to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network and the American Diabetes Association.
Awards
Chaney has managed to win several awards over the course of her career, including from the Society of Professional Journalists for diversity reporting, feature reporting, and criminal justice reporting. She also won the Associated Press Award for “Best Reporter Portfolio.”
Chaney was part of the KFOR-TV team that was awarded for covering the May 2013 Moore tornado and nominated for an Emmy for a military piece highlighting the medical journey and limb transplants of a bilateral amputee veteran. She has also won several Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters awards and was nominated for a Heartland Emmy for breaking news tornado coverage in 2010.
Joleen Chaney Age
Chaney was born on July 18, 1981, in Fairview, Oklahoma, United States. She is therefore 44 years old as of 2025. Chaney celebrates her birthday on July 18th.
Joleen Chaney Height
Chaney has an estimated height of 5 feet 6 inches tall.
Joleen Chaney Family
Chaney is of the Choctaw Tribe of Oklahoma, and her family is still connected to their tribal land, where they once farmed and lived together. She has a younger brother, and her mother died in 2016, while her grandfather died in December 2020. She shared a photo of his grandfather on her Instagram page, wishing him a farewell, saying that she will forever cherish the memories they had together.
Joleen Chaney Husband
Chaney has been happily married to William Ertl since January 1, 2022. On January 8, 2022, she shared a photo of herself in a wedding dress and captioned “01-01-2022 🤍🤍.” The couple is blessed with two sons, CJ and Cadon. Cadon, the youngest, was born in 2004 and is 22 years old as of 2026.
One of her sons graduated from the College of Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences in 2025. On July 19, 2025, she shared a photo of her family and captioned, “Proud and meaningful moment. My husband had the honor of cloaking his son at his white coat ceremony, carrying on a fourth-generation physician legacy.”
Joleen Chaney Salary
Chaney earns an annual salary ranging between $40,000 – $ 110,500.
Joleen Chaney Net Worth
Chaney has an estimated net worth ranging between $1 Million – $5 Million which she has earned through being a journalist.
Joleen Chaney KFOR
Chaney worked at KFOR alongside other famous KFOR anchors and reporters, including;
- Tara Blume
- Aaron Brackett
- Jessica Bruno
- Dylan Buckingham
- Mason Dunn
- Lauren Daniels
- Nate Feken
- Heather Holeman
- Kaitor Kay