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State Representative, Iowa , District #46

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Bio

Hello! I'm Lisa Heddens,

I am originally from Rochester, MN, but moved to Ames, IA in 1984. I attended Iowa State University where I received my BS in elementary education.

Even through I moved to Iowa in 1984, I truly feel that Iowa is my home. Through my work experience and leisure activities. I have had the opportunity to travel around our state and see how wondrous Iowa is and to meet people from diverse backgrounds.

Lisa is serving her second term in the Iowa house where her colleagues elected her an assistant minority leader.

Lisa earned a teaching certificate in elementary education at Iowa State University.   She has spent most of her professional life working with family service agencies.  She is currently the interim co-director of ASK Resource Center , where she has worked for the last seven years. From 1994-1998, she served as Family Support Coordinator for the U.S. Army Reserves.  She has worked as a substitute teacher in Ames and the surrounding school districts and was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in 2002. 

Lisa's husband Jeff retired after 22 years from the Army Reserves and is currenntly a Facilities Engineer with the Iowa Department of Public Defense.   They have two children: Makenzie, 16; and Paul, 11.     

Lisa was inspired to run for the Iowa Statehouse by the need for strong leadership in tough economic times.  In particular, her desire to run stems from her experience as a parent of a child with special needs.  She states that the birth of her son Paul, who was been diagnosed with Down Syndrome, shaped her life in unexpected ways and has changed her outlook on life.  Her priorities are education, affordable healthcare, child welfare and aid to struggling families.

She stresses the importance of maintaining the high quality of our educational system despite budgetary constraints.  She is also concerned about retaining and augmenting family services and programs such as affordable housing, nutrition programs, and affordable prescription drugs.  

While serving in the Statehouse, Lisa served on the Environmental Protection, Public Safety, Human Resources and Health and Human Services Appropriations Committees.

Lisa has been a strong voice in her community, providing the initiative and courage necessary for change.  She has chaired the governmental affairs committee for The ARC of Story County; served as the coordinator of M.E.I.R., a family support project for families and consumers with disabilities; and is a parent representative for the Children at Home Pilot Project. She is the vice president of The Legal Center for Special Education, serves on the State Rehabilitation Council, the Disability Prevention Council and the Birth Defect Advisory Council. 

In addition, she is a board member for the Westory Volunteer Fire Department, and serves on an advisory panel, which is working on a project that honors the men and women and their families who have returned home after having been activated to military duty.