Sheryl K. Albers was born September 9, 1954, in Baraboo, Wisconsin to Marcus and Norma Gumz and was raised on a mint farm. She graduated from Baraboo Senior High School and attended Carroll College from 1971 to 1976 majoring in Art and Psychology. She then transferred to Ripon College where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1976. Albers was also a Graduate Group III of the University of Wisconsin Extension – Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program. Albers earned a law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2004 and has been employed as an associate attorney at the law offices of Hazelbaker & Associates since 2004. She married Jim Albers in 1978 and started a dairy farm. They have one son, Joel.
Both of Albers's parents were active in the state, county, and local Republican Party. Her father, Marcus, was a perennial candidate for office and a figure in local politics for many years. Prior to her own foray into politics, Albers was a member of the Sauk County Farm Bureau, Sauk County Republican Party, and the Council of Young Political Leaders. In 1991, Albers took a position as the Assembly Republican Caucus agriculture policy analyst. Albers was elected to the 50th District of the Wisconsin State Assembly (consisting of Juneau County and portions of Sauk, Richland, and Monroe Counties) on December 10, 1991. The previous seat-holder, Dale Schultz, has been the Wisconsin State Senator for District 17 since 1991.
As a Wisconsin State Assembly Representative, Albers served a total of eight two-year terms, 1992 to 2008. Throughout her legislative career, she was assigned to a variety of committees. Her longest service was the Council on Child Labor and Rural Affairs. She also served as a secretary for the Legislative Council on Oversight of Community Mental Health Services. Albers also served as a chairperson or co-chairperson on the following committees: Corrections and the Courts, Joint Committee for the Review of Criminal Penalties, Property Rights and Land Management, Property Rights and Land Management, and Elections and Constitutional Law.
In 2008 Representative Albers decided not to seek a ninth term in the Assembly citing knee surgery and other health issues.
