Gerry Schnepf has served as Executive Director of Keep Iowa Beautiful since early 2001. He was the former planning director for the Iowa Conservation Commission (now the Department of Natural Resources) and founding president of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. He is a board member on several nonprofit organizations and current the president of the Iowa Transportation Museum in Grinnell.
Bill Jackson has served as Executive Assistant of Keep Iowa Beautiful since 2000. Bill earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Drake University in Des Moines. He was administrative assistant to former Governor Robert D. Ray for more than nine years, and was Program Director and Station Manager of television station WHO in Des Moines. In 1986, Bill was named by Governor Terry E. Branstad to direct the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, one of the 23 newly reorganized state agencies. Its divisions included the Iowa Arts Council, which he also served as Executive Director, and the State Historical Society of Iowa. Bill is a member of the Des Moines Symphony Board of Directors, Arts Midwest Board, Des Moines Rotary Club and the Gold Star Museum. He is past president of the Salvation Army Board of Directors, treasurer of the Chinese Cultural Center of America and member of the Iowa Sister State Committee, the Greater Des Moines Chamber of Commerce, the Des Moines United Way Campaign Committee and the Iowa Broadcasters Association.
Beth Hicks has served as Director of Advancement Services of Keep Iowa Beautiful since July 2006. She has served in project and health/safety management positions for an environmental engineering firm, managed buy recycled and pollution prevention industrial audit programs for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and served as Board President and employee for a Wisconsin recycling non-profit. Most recently, Hicks has served as Education Coordinator and Interim Executive Director for the Iowa Recycling Association. Two years ago she co-founded the Center on Sustainable Communities, a nonprofit resource center focused on residential green building.
Jim Gabriel has served as part-time education consultant for Keep Iowa Beautiful since August 2005. He is a retired school teacher with more than - years experience in coaching and teaching science, physical education, and wellness classes. His duties include the following: to review and update program materials as needed; to market program to schools in targeted areas and statewide; to work with local school contacts and coordinate efforts on campus; to measure success of program with existing surveys; to provide regular updates to KIB staff on program implementation.
Cindy Blobaum has recently joined the Keep Iowa Beautiful team as an educational program consultant. She brings with her 20 + years experience developing and delivering science and environmental education programs. Her work has included positions as an adjunct education instructor at Simpson, Drake and Grandview colleges; many years as an interpretive naturalist at parks and nature centers around the country; writing children’s science activity books; and coordinating educational efforts between nonprofit organizations and schools. She lives in Des Moines with her husband and four school-age children.