Star Player in Iowa

I was a goalie and catcher at Emporia State University, in Kansas. And despite this lack of resources and fanfare, I am grateful for the experience and credit it with making me a successful union leader and community activist. 

I learned to stay on my toes, deal with pressure, and prevent the opponent from getting a step ahead. More importantly, I learned to look at the entire field and use that broader vision to my team’s advantage. 

Those skills came in handy both as a high school physical education teacher in my adopted hometown of Shenandoah, Iowa, and as an activist with my local and the Iowa State Education Association (ISEA). 

Getting women off the bench

As a gym teacher for nearly 40 years, I saw firsthand how laws like Title IX could change lives. Passed in 1972, Title IX protects people from sex-based discrimination in education programs and other federally funded activities. 

According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, before Title IX, only 1 in 27 girls in the United States played sports; by 2016, that number had exploded to 1 in 5. Clearly, more girls and women are getting off the sidelines and into the game. This, I believe, translates into more women influencing the workplace, politics, and public policy.

My second half

I hung up my trusty PE teacher’s whistle 23 years ago, but the lessons I learned in sports and the workplace have stayed with me as a retired union member. I am privileged to have served as the ISEA-Retired president, elected in 2002, and on the NEA Board of Directors from 2010 – 2016. 

Today, I am a board member with the Iowa Unity Coalition, a group dedicated to electing progressive leaders. The organization screens political candidates who seek an endorsement, evaluating their stance on topics like workers’ rights, health care, and public education. 

The coalition’s questionnaire, which I helped craft, asks candidates if they support local gun safety measures and would vote in favor of public workers earning a living wage of at least $20 per hour, among other queries. 

Some 70 percent of the candidates we have endorsed and supported have won their races. Not bad for a state that is increasingly conservative. 

Through my union and the coalition, I do everything I can to elect progressive candidates in 2024, and I encourage others to do the same. 

Time is running out on the game clock, but I believe if we play it smart and use our muscle and money correctly, victory will be ours come Election Day.