IOWA OFFICIAL REGISTER


SALLY J. PEDERSON

Lieutenant Governor

Des Moines (D)

Birth: Jan. 13, 1951, Muscatine. Parents: Wineva and Gerald Pederson. Education: B.S. degree in Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management from Iowa State University, 1973. Spouse: James A. Autry. Children: Rick; Jim, Jr.; Ronald. Grandchildren: 2. Profession & Activities: Sworn in as Iowa's lieutenant governor on Jan. 15, 1999. Her professional career began at Meredith Corporation in Des Moines, where she rose through the ranks to become senior food editor for Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Since 1984, the Lt. Governor has devoted much of her time to community service. She served as president of Polk County Health Services, board president for the Autism Society of Iowa, and was the founding president of The Homestead Living and Learning Center for Adults with Autism. She has served on the board of directors of Blank Children's Hospital, The Des Moines Playhouse, Very Special Arts Iowa, YWCA Aliber Child Care Center, the YMCA Central Branch, the Des Moines Metro Opera, and the State Special Education Advisory Panel. She currently serves on the board of directors for the National Alliance for Autism Research, the Mid-Iowa Health Foundation, and Legacy 150. Before being tapped by Tom Vilsack to run for Lt. Governor, Sally J. Pederson had never sought political office. Salary: $73,047. Term: expires January 2003.

 

OFFICE OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

State Capitol, Des Moines, IA 50319

(515) 281-5211

www.state.ia.us/government/governor

Sally J. Pederson serves with the Governor in a unique partnership. During the campaign, Tom Vilsack promised that she would be a full partner in his administration, and she has been fully engaged from the start. An example of their collaboration was the fact that Lieutenant Governor Pederson was the only Lieutenant Governor to attend the National Governors Association New Governor's Conference immediately after the election in November, 1998. After working on the transition from a Republican to Democratic administration, Lieutenant Governor Pederson was named to oversee The Governor's 21st Century Workforce Council, a statewide effort to improve workforce development in Iowa. The council will be holding regional meetings throughout the state in 1999, and developing an action plan for partnerships between business, education, and nonprofits to ease the shortage of skilled workers in Iowa.

Lieutenant Governor Pederson is continuing the effort of her predecessor in chairing The Iowa Committee on Diversity, which organizes a statewide conference each fall. The theme for the 1999 conference will be Iowa Immigration, and the dates will be October 5-6 at the Polk County Convention Center in Des Moines. The work of the committee dovetails with the Vilsack-Pederson administration's emphasis on inclusion and diversity.

Another project of the Lieutenant Governor is her weekly Learning Through Volunteering program. Fulfilling a pledge in her inaugural speech, the Lieutenant Governor is finding time to volunteer once a week somewhere in the state. She has two purposes for volunteering. The first is to learn first-hand about the many programs that are helped by the work of volunteer hands. Also, she hopes her actions will encourage all Iowans to look for ways they can serve others.

Long-standing constitutional provisions also direct that the lieutenant governor stand ready to succeed the governor in the event the governor cannot complete his term.

Lieutenant Governor Pederson's office adjoins the governor's on the first floor of the Iowa Statehouse.

Lieutenant Governor's Staff

Senior Advisor, Dawn Wilson; Special Assistant, Molly Culbertson; Special Assistant, Allison Engel; Scheduler, Katherine Riley