Cedar County Empowerment Board Members

Cedar County Early Childhood Iowa Board

Meet the Cedar County Empowerment Board Members

(Who all refuse to furnish pictures for fear of causing international incidents, indigestion, and the yen to fall in certain esoteric Eastern European currency markets.)

Deb Cook

Deb Cook is a life long resident of Tipton. She has worked in education since 1980. She taught kindergarten for 11 years and now promotes reading as the reading recovery teacher and reading resource teacher in the Tipton Elementary. She has a B.A from the University of Northern Iowa and an M.A. in early childhood education from The University of Iowa. In addition to sitting on the Empowerment Board she created the Empowerment school ready grant for incoming kindergartners at Tipton. She is a member of NEA, the Reading Recovery Council of North America and the International Reading Association.

Deb lives in Tipton with her husband, Mike. He is a developer and computer test engineer. They have 2 children who are pretty much grown and show good promise to be contributing members of society.

Paul Fredericksen

Paul Frederiksen joined the Empowerment Board in 2006. Paul earned his bachelor's degree from Morningside College, majoring in elementary education with a reading endorsement. After teaching eight years in central Iowa, he went to seminary and has served as pastor for 22 years. He has two very smart, good-looking, athletic grandchildren, both born in 2005. He and his wife Jane enjoy gardening, camping, hiking and reading. Paul is also an accomplished wood butcher, and can make huge piles of sawdust from even the very nicest boards.

Larry Hanon

Larry Hanon has experience in corporate, partnership and individual taxation. He works primarily with clients in agriculture and other small businesses in a range of industries. Larry is originally from Southwest Iowa and graduated from Northwest Missouri State University where he received a BS in Accounting. He is one of the founding partners of Latta, Harris, Hanon & Penningroth L.L.P. Larry is a CPA and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Iowa Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Melissa Tucker

Melissa Tucker was born and raised in Cedar County. She graduated from Kirkwood Community College in 2003 with an A.A. degree and from the University of Iowa in 2005 with her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Human Relations. Melissa was the director of a before and after school program for the Arc of East Central Iowa and currently works for Lutheran Services New Parent Program. Melissa lives in Tipton with her husband, Josh. He is a service tech at Brandt Heating and Air in Iowa City. Melissa enjoys spending time with family and friends, exercising, shopping and hanging out with her two babies (Boston terrier puppies).

Mary Dorris grew up a Cedar County resident and still

resides in Durant. In 2003, she graduated from St. Ambrose
University with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing. She has
worked as a dialysis nurse, a public health/home health
nurse, was Director of Cedar County Public Health, and is
currently the school nurse for the Durant Community School
District. Mary has served on the Cedar County Empowerment
Board since 2008. She enjoys spending time outdoors with her
husband and three children

Schelly Odeen

Schelly Odeen has lived and worked in Cedar County all her life. She has taught music K-6, Developmentally Appropriate math Practices to teachers, and for the past 25+ years, Kindergarten. She has a strong commitment to helping children get off to a good start in life, at home at and school.She is a member of the Tipton, Iowa State and National Education Associations. Along with the Empowerment board, she is active in several local organizations and her church. Schelly lives near Tipton with her husband, Ed, who works as a Nuclear Refuel Outage Superintendent in the Midwest. They have 2 children. Sean is a Metalurgial Engineer and Becki is a student at the UNiversity of Iowa. Schelly currently serves as the Vice President of the Board.

Cindy Seehusen grew up in Savanna, IL until moving to Iowa and then graduating from Tipton High School. She received her BS degree in Elementary and Special Education from the University of Iowa. Cindy taught school at Olin one year, Tipton School 15 years, and North Cedar 5 years. She is currently employed by Grant Wood AEA as an Inclusion Resource Specialist for Preschool-4 at North Cedar and Preschool-12 at West Branch. She also serves as an Early Access Service Coordinator in the North Cedar District.

Cindy lives in Mechanicsville with her husband Bruce. They have three children. Sean lives with his wife Carol in Hiawatha. Andrea attends Simpson College and will be a senior this fall. Derek will graduate from North Cedar in May then plans to attend Kirkwood Community College in the fall.

Cindy enjoys golfing, cross stitching, scrapbooking, spending time with family, and traveling. The wellness of children of all ages has always been a passion for her.

Carolyn Wood

Carolyn Wood is a life long resident of Cedar County. She is the Office Manager of Cedar County Public Health and has been the Treasurer of the Cedar County Empowerment Board since 2001. She sings in the choir at First United Methodist Church. She is married to Keith Wood and lives on a farm near Tipton. They have 2 children and 4 grandchildren. She is a former Sunday school teacher and Camp Fire leader.

Mike Owen

Mike Owen is an Iowa native and an award-winning writer who uses journalistic principles of fact-finding and fair play to encourage public involvement in community activities and government. A former reporter, editor and publisher, he now is assistant director of the nonpartisan Iowa Policy Project, a research organization that focuses on economic opportunity and quality-of-life issues in public policy. Mike and his wife, Deb, live in West Branch with their two children, Andrew and Ann. Mike enjoys reading, local sports and community events, and & though you wouldn't know it to look at him, jogging through the beautiful town of West Branch and the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site.

Annette Shipley

Annette Shipley is one of the original Cedar Co. Empowerment Board members who moved away for a short stint and is now back as a board member. SHe currently serves as President of the Board. Annette has had many years of experience working through out school districts in many different capacities. Currently, Annette is employed at Durant Community Schools as their Student Services Coordinator. Annette holds many certifications and licensure to practice Social Work in the State of Iowa.