Ann Christine Bell Vilsack (born July 9, 1950) is an American
literacy
Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...
advocate
An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...
and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
. Vilsack is married to former
Iowa Governor and
United States Secretary of Agriculture
The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments.
The department includes several organi ...
Tom Vilsack
Thomas James Vilsack (; born December 13, 1950) is an American politician serving as the 32nd United States Secretary of Agriculture in the Biden administration. He previously served in the role from 2009 to 2017 during the Obama administration. ...
. She served as the
First Lady
First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...
of Iowa from 1999 until 2007. She was an unsuccessful 2012
Democratic nominee for
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
for
Iowa's 4th congressional district
Iowa's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its northwestern part, bordering the states of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Nebraska, and the Missouri River. The district includes Sioux City, ...
.
Early life, marriage, and family
Vilsack was born Ann Christine Bell in
Mount Pleasant, Iowa
Mount Pleasant is a city in and the county seat of Henry County, Iowa. The population was 9,274 in the 2020 census, an increase from 8,668 in the 2010 census. It was founded in 1835 by pioneer Presley Saunders.
History
The first permanent s ...
, where she was raised.
Vilsack graduated from
Kirkland College
Kirkland College was a small, private liberal arts women's college located in Clinton, New York, from 1968 to 1978. It was named for Samuel Kirkland, who founded Hamilton College. Hamilton absorbed Kirkland on June 30, 1978, and now maintains ...
in
Clinton, New York, in 1972.
She met her future husband, Tom Vilsack, while attending college.
[ He reportedly approached her in the cafeteria and asked, "Are you a ]Humphrey
Humphrey is both a masculine given name and a surname. An earlier form, not attested since Medieval times, was Hunfrid.
Notable people with the name include:
People with the given name Medieval period
:''Ordered chronologically''
*Hunfrid of P ...
or a Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
supporter?" The couple married on August 18, 1973, in Mount Pleasant.[ They have two children.]
Teaching career
The Vilsacks moved to Mount Pleasant in 1975. She began her career there as a librarian
A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users.
The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...
and a teacher
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
.[
For eighteen years she taught at the ]middle school
A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...
level, and also at the high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
level, leading classes in language arts and journalism. For another six years, she taught English and journalism at Iowa Wesleyan College
Iowa Wesleyan University is a private university in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. It is Iowa's first co-educational institution of higher learning and the oldest of its type west of the Mississippi River. The institution is affiliated with the United Met ...
. She worked as a reporter and columnist for the ''Mount Pleasant News''. She earned a master's degree in journalism from the University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
in 1992. In April 2013, she joined the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as the Senior Advisor for International Education.
First Lady of Iowa
Christie Vilsack became First Lady of Iowa when her husband, Tom Vilsack
Thomas James Vilsack (; born December 13, 1950) is an American politician serving as the 32nd United States Secretary of Agriculture in the Biden administration. He previously served in the role from 2009 to 2017 during the Obama administration. ...
was sworn in as governor in 1999. As First Lady, she focused on education and literacy issues.
As founder and president of the Vilsack Foundation, she partnered with the National Center for Family Literacy
The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) (formerly the National Center for Family Literacy) is an organization founded to create educational and economic opportunity for the most at-risk children and parents in the United States.
Histo ...
to promote media literacy with parents and their children.
In 2007, Christie Vilsack founded The Iowa Initiative, a privately funded foundation which aims to reduce the rate of unintended pregnancies
Unintended pregnancies are pregnancies that are mistimed, unplanned or unwanted at the time of conception.
Sexual activity without the use of effective contraception through choice or coercion is the predominant cause of unintended pregnancy. W ...
among Iowa women ages 18 to 30. She served as executive director of the Initiative until February 2011, when she resigned to focus on exploring opportunities for seeking elected office. She now serves as chair of the Board of Directors.
Political career
In October 2009, Vilsack told WHO-DT
WHO-DT (channel 13) is a television station in Des Moines, Iowa, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios are located on Grand Avenue in downtown Des Moines, and its transmitter is located in Al ...
she was considering a possible run against Republican Senator Chuck Grassley
Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate, and the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States sen ...
in the 2010 U.S. Senate election in Iowa. A Research 2000
Research 2000 was a U.S. opinion polling and marketing research company based in Olney, Maryland. It began doing research on upcoming elections in 1999 after its President, Del Ali, moved on from Mason-Dixon Political Media Research. Research 20 ...
poll for the website Daily Kos
Daily Kos ( ) is a group blog and internet forum focused on the U.S. Democratic Party and liberal American politics. The site includes glossaries and other content. It is sometimes considered an example of "netroots" activism.
Daily Kos was f ...
, conducted just days after the interview, showed that Grassley led Vilsack 51-40 in a hypothetical matchup, placing her in a statistical tie with the declared Democratic party candidates Roxanne Conlin
Roxanne Barton Conlin (born June 30, 1944) is an American lawyer who served as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa from 1977 to 1981. A Democrat, she was a candidate for Governor of Iowa in 1982 and for United States Senate i ...
and Bob Krause. She ultimately decided not to run.
In April 2011, Vilsack formed an exploratory committee to prepare for a potential campaign for Congress in Iowa's 4th District. She made her official announcement to run on July 19. On November 6, 2012 she was defeated by five-term Republican incumbent Steve King
Steven Arnold King (born May 28, 1949) is an American far-right politician and businessman who served as a U.S. representative from Iowa from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Iowa's 5th congressional district u ...
53%-45%.
She considered running against King again in 2014 but took a job with the United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...
as the Senior Advisor on International Education instead.
References
External links
2012 Campaign contributions for Race: Iowa District 04
openSecrets.org; accessed May 14, 2017.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vilsack, Christie
1950 births
Schoolteachers from Iowa
American women educators
Candidates in the 2012 United States elections
21st-century American politicians
First Ladies and Gentlemen of Iowa
Iowa Democrats
Literacy advocates
Living people
People from Mount Pleasant, Iowa
Women in Iowa politics
21st-century American women politicians
Iowa Women's Hall of Fame Inductees