Our Board
Executive Committee
President: Jerri Heid, Ames
Jerri's involvement with Raising Readers in Story County is fueled by her passion to ensure every child in Story County has access to the literacy skills essential for success in both academics and life. Hand in hand with this mission is our commitment to empowering parents to have tools in their toolbox to cultivate their children's early literacy skills and nurturing a future generation of empathetic, responsible, and actively engaged community members.
Treasurer: Lynne Carey, Nevada*
Lynne retired from the Ames Public Library after 36 years of service. At APL, Lynne developed a strong passion for community building through collaboration. She has experience with strategic planning, human resource management, budgeting, fundraising, and policy development. While literacy efforts of every stripe are important to Lynne, she believes that a focus on early literacy and parent education is vital. Lynne received a BS from ISU in psychology and women’s studies. She is one of the rare Story County natives who stayed put. She and her spouse, Navid Emami, live in Nevada in Lynne’s childhood home and appreciate the small-town living that Iowa offers.
Secretary: Diana Claus, Ames
Diana Claus has served on the Raising Readers Board since 2007. Committed to supporting literacy development initiatives for children in Story County, she places special emphasis on creating joy through reading and serving underserved populations. Diana has a B.S. in Elementary Education from Drake, an M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from Drake, and Literacy Coaching Certification from ISU. She taught elementary school, supervised the administration of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, Nation’s Report Card), and was a lecturer in the ISU School of Education. Interacting with families while working with students from preschool through college ages has provided her with a broad perspective of literacy development. Diana enjoys designing innovative literacy programs that examine best practices, build on the foundations of the science of reading, and motivate students to sprout their academic wings.
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Secretary: Sara Compton, Ames
(photo and bio coming soon!)
Member At Large: Carolyn Jons, Ames*
My dream is a future in which all children grow up healthy, with loving relationships, and with a strong foundation in literacy and learning in order to maximize their potentials. This passion has guided me as a parent and grandparent, a school board member, a member of Raising Readers in Story County and Story County Reads, a Rotarian, a neighbor, and a philanthropist. Every day I look forward to working with dedicated partners to contribute a little more toward this vision.
Board of Directors
Malai Amfahr, Des Moines
Senior Program Officer, Constituency Outreach and Engagement, Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
Malai has over 20 years of experience working in advocacy and community engagement in the nonprofit sector, primarily focused on youth. She is currently the Senior Program Officer for Constituency Outreach and Engagement with the national Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (CGLR). In her role, she supports macro-level systems change within the education sector across CGLR’s 350+ coalition communities across the nation. This work involves supporting community backbone agencies with deeper engagement and learning opportunities around CGLR’s shared agenda to ensure more hopeful futures for children with literacy as the primary driver. Prior to her role with CGLR, Malai was previously with United Way of Story County (UWSC) for 4+ years where she provided oversight of UWSC’s work in education, including the CGLR community lead role with Story County Reads. She has served on several committees and non-profit board of directors focused on youth. Her current board appointments include Raising Readers in Story County and ArtForce Iowa. Malai is a Fellow in Cohort 2 with Mid-Iowa Health Foundation’s HealthConnect Fellowship and served as co-chair of the state’s Equity Advisory Committee with Early Childhood Iowa. She has facilitated workshops and conducted presentations at national, state, and local conferences.
Connie Beecher, Ames
My former work experience was teaching children with and without disabilities. The majority of my teaching was Pk-3, but I have taught all ages up to and including post-secondary. My current work is community-based education and intervention around language and literacy development. This includes the use of technology for intervention, progress monitoring, and engagement of children and families. I also continue to develop my research skill set with quantitative methodology that is suited for a developmental framework. My passion is working with communities to improve awareness and practice about the importance of talking and reading with young children.
Specialties: My expertise is in the areas of early intervention and literacy. Community-based research, intervention development using human-centered design and rapid cycle testing.
Gerri Bugg, Ames
Photo and bio coming soon!
Judy Dahlke, Ames
If children are presented with the right books, they will fall in love with reading and be life-long readers and learners. Rejoining the Board of Directors will provide opportunities to work with others, to assure that parents and caregivers are given the knowledge and support to help children realize their worth and capabilities. I received a combined Early Childhood and Elementary Education Degree from Mankato State. (Now Mankato State University.) I moved to Ames in 1974, and after fourteen years of teaching, I earned a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Drake University. Of the over 1650 kindergarten students that I taught, at Gertrude Fellows Elementary School, it was not uncommon to have 4-8 different nationalities in my class. Knowing how important it was for children to see likenesses of themselves in our daily stories, the difficult search was on for quality literature. Joining the Board of Directors for Raising Readers in Story County during its infancy lead to opportunities such as: volunteering as the Volunteer Coordinator, along with developing, implementing and coordinating several programs. It was a fulfilling and rewarding way to spend ten years of retirement. I’m excited to be back, to continue the mission of Raising Readers in Story County.
Amy Divine, Ames
Education has always been a priority for me. I taught math for 10 years mostly at the middle school level until I became a stay-at-home mom. When my son was in 5th grade, he was diagnosed with dyslexia and I learned about what students with dyslexia needed to learn. In 2017 I started a free volunteer based tutoring program for students who struggle with reading at the Ames Public Library called INSPIRE. I am also president of the board for Story Theater Company in Ames, where my daughter participated for many years. I am passionate about programs that help children learn and grow and help them live happier lives.
Gale Gehling, Ames
Gale has been proudly serving the Ames community as a top REALTOR® since 2001, guided by her personal mission to “Give Where You Live.” The City of Ames recently recognized her commitment to service, honoring her with the Ames Humanitarian Award for her dedication to giving back to the community she and her family call home. Since 2023, Gale has devoted hundreds of volunteer hours to advancing children’s literacy. Through her efforts, she has collected and distributed more than 51,000 children’s books to local organizations, teachers, students, and families in need. She is passionate about creating access to books and opportunities for young readers and is thrilled to serve as part of the Raising Readers team. Above all, Gale treasures her role as a mom to her two daughters, Olivia and Jasmine, who actively support her literacy initiatives, and as “Gigi” to her granddaughter, Lovelyn. Her husband, Ryan, joined her real estate business in 2003 and has been a steadfast partner in both her professional success and her community outreach efforts
Brad Nau, Ames
As the child of two educators, the father of three adult children with six young grandchildren, and a retired pediatrician, I recognize the importance of early exposure to language and literacy for the future academic success as well as the mental and emotional well being of a young child. In my nearly forty years at McFarland Clinic, I had the pleasure of distributing literally thousands of books provided by RRSC to infants and children. We often discussed the love manifested in sharing a book with a child. With all the negative consequences of addictive access to the internet, it is even more vital in today’s world to introduce our children to the world of literacy at their most impressionable age.
Linda Impecoven-Lind, Ames
I am a professor in the School of Education at Iowa State University. I teach a variety of classes including special education, early childhood special education, and literacy. I have also been responsible for running the Duffelmeyer Reading Improvement Center and have expanded the center from only on campus to the schools in Ames and United Community Schools. I have just finished two terms as a board member at Ames Community Preschool Center. I am passionate about making sure all children in our community have the opportunity to learn to become readers who love to read and write. Thus, I am passionate about becoming a board member for RRSC.
Janice Seibel, Nevada
I bring a strong academic background and a lifelong curiosity about how children grow and learn. I hold a M.S. in horticulture with a minor in biochemistry and spent much of my career managing research laboratories at Iowa State University. My work at ISU also gave me the opportunity to explore my interest in child development through coursework in child development, human behavior, and related areas. I have vivid memories of the magic books brought to me as a child, and I believe all children deserve to experience that same sense of wonder. I am especially inspired by Raising Readers in Story County’s emphasis on supporting caregivers and encouraging families to read together as a foundation for lifelong learning.
Jayme Stewart, Zearing
As a young mother myself, and as someone who has worked in pediatric medicine and on the maternity floor for seven years and counting, I understand firsthand the importance of early intervention and consistency of reading with your child(ren). Being new to Story County in 2018 and then delivering both of my children during the pandemic when everything was closed, I felt extremely isolated and didn’t know of any resources in the area. I am very passionate about helping and advocating for mothers and being a resource/part of their village to bring them information to help them have the tools and community to help their precious child during the most crucial developmental years for speech and language development. Reading opens a whole new world and level of imagination for people of all ages.
Lori Sulzberger, Ames
Now retired, I formerly taught children with learning difficulties and served as Managing Director of Story Theater Company. Most recently, I was the theatre secretary for the ISU Department of Music and Theatre. My career has been devoted to working with children and youth from Pre-K through college, helping them to find their joy. I believe Raising Readers in Story County’s focus on caregiver support in concert with early literacy education is vital. I earned my B.A. in Communication Arts from Wartburg College and my M.Ed. from Georgia State University. My husband Mike and I have been residents of Ames for 29 years and have raised two children here.
Rebecca Thomas, Ames
Rebecca is a semi-retired mom of two, grandma of four, and wife for 45 years. She and her husband were involved in Christian ministry/leadership from young adulthood for about 20 years, starting with four years of leadership training. During that time she functioned as a leader for small neighborhood groups up to state-wide endeavors. Her various roles have had her coordinating and training groups as well as participating in many large team efforts. She has served on the Iowa State Parent Board as well as given board service for a child daycare. Rebecca has a background in the arts, classical and graphic, and has always had a passion for the nurturing and development of children. She sees the great value of RRSC's mission and vision and the fact that all that RRSC has to offer is made available at no cost to families.
Kathryn Wirth, Ames
Kathryn is a long-time employee of First National Bank in Ames. She has also enjoyed volunteering for Raising Readers in Story County in various capacities since 2008.
Sue Wuhs, Ames
Sue is retired after serving 36 years as director of the Ames Community Preschool Center. She had contacts with Raising Readers over the years and is pleased to be involved once again. She enjoys working with former ACPC parents. Sue has three grown children and five grandchildren of various ages.
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