I am excited for the opportunity to work as your new state court administrator. Many of you know that I was the District Court Administrator in the Fourth Judicial District for the past two years but you probably don’t know that I was born in Iowa and have lived in eight different Iowa counties in my lifetime. I truly enjoy traveling around the state and discovering new places and hidden gems. When I was in the Fourth District, I made a point to visit courthouses in all nine of our counties. As state court administrator, I plan to continue to visit courthouses around the state.
We are beginning so many new and important projects that I want to hear from you. I want to know how things are working. I am very interested to hear your ideas on how to make things run smoother or more efficient. When you see me around, feel free to walk up and start a conversation.
To help with the conversation, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I was born in Fort Dodge and graduated from Stuart-Menlo High School. I have two sons. One is a junior at Simpson College who is on the golf team and the other is a high school senior at St. Albert in Council Bluffs. My younger son runs cross county, plays basketball and golf and is active in music. As you can imagine, I spend most of my free time at sporting events and musical performances. If I have a weekend without kids’ activities, I enjoy golf, fishing, hunting, and singing. I realize those four things don’t always go together but when I am not out in nature, I really enjoy singing in church and was also a member of a barbershop quartet while I was in Omaha (there’s a conversation starter).
If you want to talk work, I served in the United States Army from 1992-1997 and was assigned to 1st Personnel Command in Schwetzingen, Germany for three years and Fort Carson, Colorado, for another two. While I was in Germany, I earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Maryland, University College (now known as University of Maryland Global Campus). I worked in private industry for 8 years, then the Iowa Department of Revenue before beginning my career with the courts. I’ve worked in administration for the Iowa and Nebraska judicial branches for the past 15 years, mostly in the Council Bluffs and Omaha area.
That’s my story. Now, I’m excited to hear yours, as well as your ideas on how we can better serve the people of Iowa together. And, if you hear of a barbershop trio in central Iowa that is looking for a tenor, please let me know.