Iowa Democratic Party

State Representative, Iowa , District #49

Contact Information

Helen Miller
PO Box 675
Fort Dodge, Iowa 50501
515-570-3535
helenmiller49@yahoo.com
http://representativehelenmiller.com

Home Town: Fort Dodge, Iowa
Occupation: Attorney, Arts educator, legislator
Committees: Assistant Minority Leader; Administration and Rules; Agriculture; Appropriations; Economic Growth; International Relations; Veterans Affairs

Bio

Helen Miller has over 25 yeas of leadership and experience in various capacities including volunteer, mediator, legislative bill drafter, librarian, attorney and board member of numerous organizations. Miller is currently serving her third term in the Iowa House of Representatives representing District 49. In addition to serving as an Assistant Majority Leader, she serves on the Agriculture, Economic Growth, Envionmental Protection and Veterans Affairs committees. She has previously served on the Administration and Rules, Human Resources, and Transportation committees, and Justice Systems Appropriations subcommittee. She has also served as an assistant minority leader.

Miller is the Executive Director of Young At Art, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit which promotes economic development through the arts, and sponsors the annual Artful Dodger Project. She currently serves on the boards of Leadership Iowa, the Center for Policy Alternatives, Young At Art Foundation, Webster County Crime Stoppers, the Fort Dodge Community School Improvement Advisory Board, the Ft. Dodge Correctional Facility Community Task Force, and the Webster County Democratic Central Committee. Miller is also the Vice Chair for the Agriculture Committee of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators and a State Director for Women in Government. She is also a memberof the Iowa State Bar Association, the District of Columbia Bar Association and a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary Interational. She is a past board member of Youth Shelter Care of North Central Iowa, Fort Dodge Area Symphony, the Webster County/ Ft. Dodge Human Rights Commission, the Ft. Dodge Public Library, the Blanden Memorial Art Museum Foundation and several other organizations. From 2003 to 2005, Miller served as the Second Vice Chair of the Iowa Democratic Party. She is a member of the Iowa State Bar and the District of Columbia Bar Associations.

Miller is particularly interested in the economic growth of her district including the completion of Highway 20. During her first year in the legislature, she aurhored and moved through the House legislation that has led to the development of an ATV park in Fort Dodge. A House Resolution she cosponsored calling for the completion of Highway 20 also passed the Iowa House during the 2003 session. A resolution honoring the National Bar Association (the African American bar association founded in Des Moines, Iowa in 1925) authored by Miller passed the Iowa House in 2005.

Miller has been instrumental in promoting economic development through the arts bringing the Artful Dodger to the Statehouse rotunda since 2003, and supporting legislation that promotes the arts. Miller hosts an arts legislative breakfast annually. During the 2006 legislative session Miller authored legislation calling for the Department of Cultural Affairs to assess the arts education and enrichment opportunities available to school-age children. The results of that report will be available in December 2006.

Miller is a graduate of the leadership programs of Leadership Washington (DC), Leadership Iowa, the Bowhay Instititute for Legislative Leadership Development, and the Flemming Leadership Institute. Miller is also a member of Rotary International, the Links, Inc. and Junior League of Des Moines.

EDUCATION

• Bachelor of Arts, Howard University, Washington, D.C.

• Master of Science in Library Science, Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio, TX

• Juris Doctor, Georgetown University Law Center,Washington, D.C.

PERSONAL

Married to a retired Air Force veteran. They have 3 children and two grandchildren.

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