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I graduated from University of Iowa 1987 with a B.A. in Psychology. From 1987-1991, I was employed by several organizations in Cedar Rapids working with delinquent youth and delinquency prevention programs. I married my best friend, Thomas "Jake" VandeWeerd, in 1992. My career took a turn to BtoB sales at a commercial photographer for 12 years prior to working with my husband at North Forty (the advertising company Jake launched with several partners in 2003). We were blessed with two children in the '90s and are fortunate they both currently reside in the Cedar Rapids area. Our daughter was married in Mexico in 2022.
In 2020, I "retired" from Stamats after working closely with Bill Stamats in a variety of professional capacities within the company, ranging from account management to marketing. I received my professional life coach certification in the fall of 2022 with the intent of fulfilling my life long dream of "counseling" people who are struggling with finding happiness in life. My website should be live and ready to receive clients by fall of 2023. I am very excited about this new venture!
As for other interests, my family enjoys traveling both nationally and internationally. We have visited many warm southern countries to escape the Midwest winters. Two of our favorites are Costa Rica and Greece. Recently, the entire family traveled to Dubai (23 hours) and experienced a very unique city and native culture. Jake and I booked a trip to Panama for our next adventure in 2024.