Cyndi Pederson, Director, Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, Director, Iowa Arts Council, Administrator, State Historical Society of Iowa
Cyndi Pederson earned an associate degree at North Iowa Area Community College and a bachelor of arts in art education from Iowa State University in 1979. In 1996, her interest in historic preservation, culture and the arts inspired her to join the development team that created the Browncamp Lofts, a project that helped to ignite the renaissance of housing in Downtown Des Moines. In 1998, she served as a member of former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack's transition team and was named Chief of Staff to former First Lady Christie Vilsack. Pederson also served as a member of the Vilsack/Pederson administration's senior management team. In 2005, Pederson joined the Department of Cultural Affairs as Coordinator for Gov. Vilsack and Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson's Iowa Great Places initiative, which combines state resources with local assets to make Iowa communities great place where people want to live, work and play. She became director of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs in 2007.