board of directors

adam haeder

Adam Haeder is an Operations Manager at the Google data center in Council Bluffs. He has been in IT since the last century, and has had the opportunity to perform just about every technical job there is, from desktop support to network manager to trainer, DBA, programmer, sysadmin and CIO. He holds multiple industry certifications, was the Cisco Regional Networking Academy trainer while at the AIM Institute in Omaha, Neb., and was one of the first Linux trainers in the Midwest. Adam serves on multiple boards and technical advisory committees in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area, and his latest book is "LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell" by O'Reilly publishing. Adam lives in Nebraska with his wife and children and enjoys college football, playing chauffeur for his teenagers, and tinkering with the latest electronic gadgets.

becky burgart

Becky Burgart spent her entire career in education. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education and a master’s degree in FCS Education, both from Iowa State. She began her teaching career at Iowa Western teaching a career and technical childcare class to high school students in Harrison County, transitioned onto the IWCC campus and taught preschool in the lab school while working with college students. In total, she spent 33 years at IWCC, retiring as an academic dean. Becky also served two terms on the Lewis Central School board and was nominated by the governor to the State Empowerment board and served on that board as well as the Pottawattamie County Board. She participated in both Leadership Council Bluffs and Leadership Iowa and is currently the Chair for the Christian Home Association Foundation board.

bonnie Kramer

Bonnie Kramer recently retired from the Riverside School District where she taught music and gifted education the past 29 years. She graduated from Northeast Missouri State University with a BME in Instrumental Music, and from Northwest Missouri State University with a MS in Educational Leadership. Bonnie was awarded the Iowa Quiz Bowl Association Small School Coach of the Year in 2023. She and her husband, David own Underwood Farm Supply in McClelland and live outside Minden. They have three sons and enjoy spending time with their two grandchildren. Bonnie leads the music ministry at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Neola and serves on the Neola Area Community Center board.

Cara trede - President

Cara has worked the last 15 years in the education and nonprofit sectors. Cara currently serves as the Executive Director of Avenue Scholars Southwest Iowa, a nonprofit organization, a trailblazing organization committed to facilitating the seamless integration of education and the business world for local students, especially those with promising potential and significant needs, to launch successful careers. Cara received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa and a master’s degree from Bellevue University. Cara also holds a Doctor of Education in interdisciplinary leadership from Creighton University.

Cara serves as the board president for Southwest Iowa Educational Foundation, serves on the board of directors for Council Bluffs Noon Rotary, and serves on the board of directors for the Council Bluffs Leadership Alumni Association. Cara is a Council Bluffs native, and currently resides here with her family.

Carrie booms ryan

Carrie is currently an English teacher at Abraham Lincoln High School where she serves as a senior class sponsor. She previously taught at Wilson Middle School where she was the TAG strategist and developed an advanced language arts curriculum for middle school students as well as at Thomas Jefferson High School where she taught CE Composition and CE American Literature, while also holding many other coordinator and mentor positions. She has dedicated much of her career to helping students acquire scholarships.

Deb Goodman

Deb retired from the Council Bluffs School District after a 33 year career where she taught history, journalism, business, was a school-to-career-coordinator, and the CTE curriculum specialist. Prior to teaching she spent 4 years in the finance and insurance industries. She is a Thomas Jefferson graduate with an education degree from the University of Northern Iowa and a business degree from Buena Vista University. Deb serves on the TJ Hall of Fame Committee and the Iowa Western Black Tie Committee. She also does consulting for Career and Technical Education. She resides in Council Bluffs.

devin schoening

Devin Schoening started with the Council Bluffs Community School District in 2001 as a journalism adviser and teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School. After eight years as a classroom teacher, Devin moved into an instructional coaching role for the district in the area of technology. He was an integral member of the district's team as they moved to a 1:1 learning environment, one of the first in the country to use Google Chromebooks. Devin has been a leader in the district for over a decade as a program lead, principal at Crescent, assistant principal at Longfellow, and now as the principal at Longfellow. Devin and his wife Erin have been married for 23 years and Erin serves as the International Baccalaureate Program Lead at College View Elementary. Devin and Erin have two daughters, Grace, 20, and Claire, 18, who both attend the University of Northern Iowa.

frank w. pechacek, Jr.

In 1984, Frank was a co-founder of Southwest Iowa Educational Foundation, Inc. Frank is the managing partner of the law firm of Willson & Pechacek, P.L.C. He holds a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Northern Iowa and doctor of jurisprudence from the University of Iowa College of Law. Frank also serves as a director of the Iowa Law School Foundation, Loess Hills Chapter of American Red Cross, Charles E. Lakin Human Services Campus Foundation, Investment Committee of the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation and is a commissioner on the Pottawattamie County Civil Service Commission. Frank and his wife, Beth, live in Council Bluffs.

Jane Leick

Jane Leick is in her 23rd year of teaching, her 16th year in the Treynor School District. She graduated high school from Sidney, Iowa, has her bachelor’s degree from Simpson College and her master’s degree in Sports Health Care from AT Still University. She currently teaches Anatomy/Physiology, Sports Medicine, Medical Terminology, and middle school PE at Treynor. She also coaches JH girls basketball. Prior to Treynor, she taught in Avondale AZ, at La Joya Community High School for 7 years and was also the head athletic trainer and coached volleyball and basketball. She is currently the Treynor Day of Caring service learning project co-chair and a freshman class sponsor. She is very passionate about helping to give students more opportunities to find their passions and to help prepare them for their next chapters in life. She is married to her husband Tony and has 2 daughters. She enjoys spending time with her family, coaching basketball for her daughter’s teams, supporting Treynor extra-curricular activities, and golfing.

Jeff Schoening

Jeff Schoening retired in May of 2022 after 34 years as the 5-12 band director at Treynor Community Schools in Treynor, Iowa. Since retirement, Jeff has remained active in music and music education. He is a guest conductor, clinician, judge, and private instructor in the state of Iowa, and continues to perform with various local and regional rock, swing and dance bands. Jeff is a 1980 graduate of Lewis Central High School in Council Bluffs, and in 1984 received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa. In June of 2023 he was honored as a recipient of the CHI Health Mercy Heritage Award for Arts and Humanities. Jeff and his wife Patty have been married for 41 years and are the proud parents of sons Keith and Alec, and three very active grandsons.

He remains active in the Treynor community, giving back to the students, the school, and community whenever he can, and to the young band directors in the Southwest Iowa area as part of the Iowa Bandmasters Association Retired Directors Mentorship Program.

john paul

John is President of Western Iowa Mutual Insurance in Council Bluffs and has worked there for more than 30 years. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Business, Economies, and Livestock Marketing from Morningside College. John serves on the Children's Square Foundation Board, Jennie Edmundson Foundation Board, People's National Bank

Governing Board, Chamber Agriculture Committee, East Mills Scholarship Committee, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies Welfare Benefit Program, and Mutual Insurance Association of Iowa Legislative Committee. He stays involved with national, state, county, and community activities as well. John and his wife Cathy live near Henderson.

JORDAN NORRIS

Jordan is the Dean of Advising & Enrollment Services at Iowa Western Community College, where she has worked for the past eight years. She holds a Bachelor's in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska Omaha and a Master’s in Business Administration from Bellevue University. She is also currently participating in the Iowa Community College Leadership Institute to further her professional development. Outside of work, Jordan enjoys spending time with her family and teaching dance to youth. She resides in Council Bluffs, Iowa, with her husband and two daughters.

judy o'brien

Judy retired from the Council Bluffs Community School District following an educational career as a teacher, counselor, building principal and secondary education director. She is an Abraham Lincoln High School graduate and received a B.S degree from Colorado State University. She received graduate degrees from Creighton University. Currently, Judy volunteers in a variety of local and state organizations and is an active member of St. John’s Parish at Creighton. Judy resides in Council Bluffs.

Mary beth runge - Vice President

Mary Beth is currently a district mentor for new high school teachers in the Council Bluffs Community Schools. She previously taught high school Social Studies courses at Thomas Jefferson High School. She earned Master’s Degrees in both Sociology (UNI) and Educational Leadership (UNO). She completed her Doctorate in Educational Leadership in 2015 from UNO. She loves gardening and spending time with her friends and family. She is very passionate about education.

steve irvin - secretary/treasurer

Steve was involved in K-12 education for 38 years as a teacher, coach, athletic director, and school counselor. He served Iowa school districts in Mallard, South Page, and Treynor. He was a school counselor at South Page for four years and at Treynor for 11 years. Steve is also a past-president of the Iowa School Counselor Association. In 2014 Steve went to work for the Iowa College Access Network (ICAN) as a student success advisor helping schools, students and families in the areas of financial aid and college/career planning and was based at Iowa Western in Council Bluffs. In 2021 Steve retired from ICAN, but stays active in helping students and families with financial aid and college planning on a volunteer basis. He and his wife Debbie enjoy family events, spectator sports, traveling, and rooting for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Susan miller

After accepting an early retirement offer from First National Bank of Omaha after 41 years, Susan Miller began her “Act 2” when she was elected to serve on the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors. A resident of Carson, she is active in her community including the Carson Business Club, and Dreamland Theatre, and serves on multiple boards. With an Associate’s degree from Iowa Western Community College and a Bachelor’s degree from Bellevue University, she understands the value of continuing education and the importance of scholarships. Susan and her husband enjoy camping, biking, stock car racing, and spending time with their family, especially the grandkids.

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