Executive Director

Dawn Peterson - Ms. Peterson has worked in the area of civil rights since 1976. She has been a civil rights investigator, mediator, supervisor of investigators, and program administrator. She is a certified facilitator, a grant writer, and serves on numerous committees in government and community circles. From 1984 to 1994, management and supervision of intake, mediation, conciliation, investigative, and steno pool staff. As a member of the management team, involved in the day-to-day decision-making, administration of policy and management of the agency. Coordination of the continuous quality improvement efforts, including Accountable Government Act, since October 1991. Since 1992 coordinated conferences and special projects of a statewide to international scope. Began the volunteer attorney program that utilized the pro bono services of approximately 70 labor and employment law attorneys and other volunteers. Since September 1993 have facilitated project teams and steering committees throughout state government. Since December 1993, have written and administered grant applications for the agency. Since July 1999, have managed the resource services/education division.

Board of Directors

Kimberly Baxter, Chair - Ms. Baxter has advocated for equity, and on the importance of a diverse workforce for over the past 15 years. A graduate of Iowa State University, she is currently the Director of the Iowa Accountability Program, an initiative established from funding by the U.S. Department of Justice to increase system accountability to better protect victims of domestic violence, hold batterers accountable, and integrate the concerns and expertise of African Americans into domestic violence prevention and intervention. In August 2003, Governor Thomas Vilsack appointed Ms. Baxter Director of the Iowa Commission on the Status of African Americans which afforded her the opportunity to regularly speak on, and advocate for, the importance of diversity and inclusion on behalf of the Governor’s Office and Iowa Legislature. In addition to her previous work for Governor Vilsack, Ms. Baxter has previously served the citizens of Iowa by working on as a state Employment Specialist and Hearing Officer for Workforce Development, the state Radiological Officer for Homeland Security, a Senior Consultant on Affirmative Action and Equal Employment issues in the private industry and Victim Advocate for the Story County Attorney’s Office.

Jerry Tormey, Vice-chair - Mr. Tormey has spent almost the last 30 years in the field of mental health. He has acted in every capacity from counselor to administrator. During part of that time he was an adminstrator for two Residential Care Facilities. Much of that period he also handled all of the human resource responsibilities. He has been a national, state and local member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). He currently is the Chair of the state and local chapter of the Diversity Committee for SHRM. Among Jerry's other volunteer work, he has been elected to the Urbandale School Board of Directors and served seven years in that capacity, he is on the board for Grand View College Human Service and Psychology Business Alliance, charter member of the Healthy Polk 2010 and the mental health sub-committee, member of the Polk County Suicide Prevention Coalition and chair of the Schools Group sub- committee, past coordinator of the Central Iowa Health Care Providers Group, board member of Latinos Unidos of Iowa, and coordinated multiple fundraisers for many diffenent organizations.

Kandis Bock, Secretary - Ms. Bock is the Executive Director of Workforce Strategies at Meredith Corporation, with a Masters of Education in Organizational Learning and Human Resources Development from Iowa State University. During her career at Meredith, she has been an advocate for a greater appreciation of diversity and inclusion. Through corporate giving programs, in-kind contributions, volunteer efforts, and sponsorships, Meredith partners with many national and community-based groups to increase awareness and create a greater appreciation and understanding of all backgrounds and cultures. Ms. Bock has been the company’s Equal Employment Opportunity Manager since 1993, and plays a large role in Meredith’s company-wide initiatives and efforts that support the history, heritage and culture of various groups.

Michael Bowser - Mr. Bowser is a 2006 graduate of the University of Northern Iowa with a BA in Communications with an emphasis in Electronic Media and is a 2002 Matthew Shepard Scholarship Recipient. At the University of Northern Iowa, Mr. Bowser served as President of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Allied Union and launched a magazine for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied high school and college students in Iowa called Queer and Allies. He served on the Board of Directors for the Community AIDS Assistance Project in Eastern Iowa for four years as Communications Director. Currently, he is Director of the Eychaner Foundation.

JoAnn Mackey - Ms. Mackey is the Executive Director of Latino Resources, Inc., which is the non profit organization of the Iowa Latino Heritage Festival. JoAnn has had a career in the hospitality industry as a catering director, a food and beverage director and a hotel manager in which she spent many years. Later she was employed by the state of Iowa in the Division of Latino Affairs where she began the Iowa Latino Heritage Festival as an assignment by her administrator. JoAnn’s major goal has been to enlighten and educate Iowans of all backgrounds about the Latino community. This has been accomplished by exposing the larger community to traditional and contemporary Latin American culture through the presentation of performing and visual arts, educational workshops and authentic cuisine. The Iowa Latino Heritage Festival has become not only the largest Latino festival, but the largest ethnic event in the state of Iowa. Each year the festival continues to attract a growing multicultural audiences from throughout Iowa and the surrounding states. JoAnn is a current board member of the Friends of Iowa Civil Rights, the American Cancer Society, the Morris Foundation, CASA for the courts, American Red Cross and is an advocate for the Latino community.

David Meeks

Lana Ross - For the past seven years Lana has been a registered lobbyist, advocating for a variety of social justice issues, specifically those relating to children and families living in poverty. She has over fifteen years experience developing new programs, such as a local foundation that assists low income families in allowing their children to participate in developmental activities, such as music, sports and clubs. She also created a program that develops partnerships between local community action agencies and local churches to assist families to rise out of poverty and secure resources for agencies. Lana is a strong community collaborator, having worked with multiple agencies and organizations to develop and maintain strong productive partnerships for more than twenty years. An example is the partnership between Iowa community action agencies and The Iowa United Methodist Church Camping Program, a partnership formed to allow low-income children to attend a summer camping experience, with hundreds of central Iowa children participating. Governor Tom Vilsack appointed Lana to serve on the fourteen member Governor’s Energy Task Force in 2001, advocating on behalf of low income families. She also served on the 1993 Iowa Human Investment Policy Work Group, designing Iowa’s new welfare program, the Iowa Family Investment Program (FIP). Lana is a professional trainer, with eighteen years of experience, including a partnership with the National Community Action Partnership (NCAP) completing training in twenty five states.

Lori SchraderBachar - Ms. SchraderBachar has the fun job at the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women. As Coordinator of Publications and Special Projects, she administers the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame and Write Women Back Into History essay contest. She also edits the commission’s many publications, including the IoWoman newsletter and manages the website. She has been with the commission since August 1999. Her academic background includes a BA degree in social science and speech/drama from Buena Vista University and the master of public administration degree from Drake University. Additionally, she is a certified public manager. She has worked for the Iowa United Methodist Church and Family Services of Champaign County (IL). She lives in Ankeny with her partner, two children, and mother.

Mike Williams - Mr. Williams has a BA in Business Management from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa and Masters Degree in Public Administration from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Mike has almost ten years of experience developing solutions for reasonable job accommodations and improved communications for persons with disabilities in the private employment and the public sector. Mr. Williams serves as the state transition coordinator planning the Iowa Youth Leadership Forum for Students (10th year) with Disabilities and the Iowa College Leadership Forum for College Students with Disabilities (5th year). ike is also an Executive Committee Member of the Association of Youth Leadership Forums (AYLF), a national transition oversight group that he helped organize.