Introducing Dr. Mona Yanacheak

 Iowa ASCD’s New Executive Director

Iowa ASCD is pleased to introduce you to our new executive director, Dr. Mona Yanacheak.

Dr. Mona Yanacheak has been a lifelong learner and teacher in both the private and public sectors. She completed her BA in education and Bible in 1980 with her first position working with severe and profoundly disabled learners. She has worked for a community college in programs that support at-risk youth and nontraditional programs and career planning for high school students. She played an instrumental role in the development and implementation of concurrent enrollment programs between the community college and their 20-parter school districts throughout a five-county region, during which time she completed her Masters in Educational Leadership. This work led her to serve as a program manager, consultant in career and technical education, health science programs, and Title IX/Section 504 for the Department of Education in South Dakota. She completed her ed specialist and doctorate in education and transformational education leadership in 2020. She presently is a consultant for Northwest Iowa, where she has served for 18 years.

Dr. Yanacheak shares, "These 44 years of educational experience have provided me with excellent opportunities to both lead and learn. The needs that educational leaders, teachers, and support staff have are growing every day. I am committed to both my current and future professional roles to providing the most current research, innovative educational initiatives proven to have positive impact on learners' academic proficiency and future success, and district leadership teams being able to take advantage of the significant talent and opportunities that are available to them through Iowa ASCD. This work includes working with districts on personalized, competency-based education; Portrait of a Graduate; and integration of essential skills within content areas to better prepare all of our learners to be ready for a rapidly changing future. There are so many paths to our future successes when working for and with all of our learners, their families, and every community across our state. The vision for Iowa ASCD and its focus on eight key functions of leadership serve as anchors in helping move each of our members and partners forward toward providing the highest quality educational experiences available, not only in Iowa but across our nation as well."

Welcome Dr. Yanacheak!