Gov. Reynolds appoints new director to lead Iowa Department for the Blind

DES MOINES — Gov. Kim Reynolds this week announced the appointment of a new director to lead the Iowa Department for the Blind after a monthslong search.

The search was launched to fill the role after the former director resigned last July while battling Stage 4 kidney cancer.

Stacy Cervenka will lead the Iowa Department for the Blind starting July 7.

Cervenka most recently worked as senior director of policy with the nonprofit Disability Belongs, formerly RespectAbility, in Virginia. She also was the director of public policy for the American Foundation for the Blind and served as a legislative assistant to former U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas.

She currently works as a volunteer on the consumer advisory panel for the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation and is a contributing writer to U.S. News and World Report and the Omaha World-Herald, according to Reynolds’ office.

Cervenka has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling from Texas Tech University.

“From her experience starting as a legislative assistant to working her way up to director of public policy for a national organization, she has shown she is uniquely qualified to continue the department’s mission to empower blind Iowans to be gainfully employed and live independently,” Reynolds said in a statement.

Cervenka, in a statement, said he is “honored” to be appointed and serve in the position.

“The Iowa Department for the Blind has a legacy of leading the nation in innovative, high-quality services for blind and low vision people,” she said. “I’m excited to build on that history by ensuring all blind Iowans have access to the services they need to enter or remain in the workforce and to live actively in their communities.”

Former director Emily Wharton had led the department for seven years and previously served as its technology director. She is a former client of the Department for the Blind and graduated from its Iowa Blindness Empowerment and Independence Center.

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In her resignation letter to Reynolds last summer, Wharton said she has been battling Stage 4 kidney cancer since January 2023. She thanked Reynolds and her staff for allowing her to take time needed for treatments and healing.

Reynolds appointed Sarah Willeford, library director at the Department for the Blind, to serve as interim director while the state conducted a search of candidates.

Willeford will return to her role as library director of the Department for the Blind once Cervenka assumes her role, according to a spokesperson for Reynolds’ office.

Willeford received a base salary of approximately $105,500 in 2024, according to the state's salary database. Wharton received a salary of roughly $103,000 in 2023.

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