As founder and president of the Vilsack Foundation, Christie Vilsack is actively involved in strengthening communities in Iowa and nationally by advocating for family literacy, public libraries, school libraries, and computer and technology literacy.
Through a partnership with the National Center for Family Literacy and the Verizon Foundation, Christie helped create the Tech Savvy Awards to identify programs across the county that bring parents and children together to learn to use technology effectively and safely and to help parents advocate for 21st Century skills in schools.
She serves on the Iowa and national Board of Directors of Reach Out and Read. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Iowa Wesleyan College, and the Iowa Center for the Book.
Christie was born and raised in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. In l972 she graduated in the charter class of Kirkland College in Clinton, New York. She received her masters degree in journalism from The University of Iowa in l992.
She met Tom Vilsack during college and they married in l973. After he finished law school in l975, they moved to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa where she taught and he practiced law. Together they raised two sons, Jess 29 a lawyer in Des Moines, and Doug, 26, a law student at the University of Colorado.
For l8 years, Christie taught middle school and high school language arts and journalism. For six years she taught English and journalism at Iowa Wesleyan College. She worked as a reporter and columnist for the Mt. Pleasant News for many years and more recently created a column for Offenburger.com, an online journal. She is still certified to teach in the state of Iowa.
When her husband was elected governor of Iowa, she created a statewide literacy initiative. From 2000 to 2006, Christie raised funds to give a book to every kindergartener in Iowa. She visited over 500 Iowa libraries to discuss the social and economic impact of public libraries on communities and to advocate for a certified teacher librarians in every school.
On behalf of the governors office, she traveled the state advocating for education and economic development initiatives. She represented Iowa in 9 countries during her tenure as first lady, leading a delegation in Japan and New Zealand.
She has been a Democratic activist her entire life. Since high school she has worked to elect legislators, governors and presidents. She attended the 2004 National Convention as a delegate and a speaker.
Through a partnership with the National Center for Family Literacy and the Verizon Foundation, Christie helped create the Tech Savvy Awards to identify programs across the county that bring parents and children together to learn to use technology effectively and safely and to help parents advocate for 21st Century skills in schools.