FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Matt Russell to Leave Iowa IPL to Join Biden Administration
November 18, 2021
Contact: Irene DeMaris, Iowa IPL • 515-216-4895 • idemaris@iowafaithandclimate.org
DES MOINES, IA- The Iowa Interfaith Power & Light’s Board of Directors announces that Executive Director, Matt Russell, will be joining the Biden-Harris administration as the Iowa State Executive Director, Farm Service Agency serving at U.S. Department of Agriculture in Iowa. In accepting this position, Matt will be leaving his role at Iowa IPL at the end of the month.
As Matt transitions to his new role at USDA on November 29, Iowa IPL will be led by Acting Executive Director Irene DeMaris. As associate director since July 2020, Irene has been working closely with Matt on all aspects of programming, outreach, and fundraising. We are excited that our programming will continue through the transition. We are confident that our goal of building increased capacity for Iowans from all walks of life and all faith traditions to take climate action will continue under Irene’s leadership through this transition.
Iowa IPL thanks Matt for his hard work and dedication empowering Iowans of faith and conscience to take bold and just climate action. Through his leadership since 2018, we have grown as an organization through our Called to Climate Action student leadership program and promoting farmers as natural problem solvers for climate action through Faith Farms & Climate.
”Leading Iowa IPL has been the highlight of my 20-plus year career in Iowa advocating for and advancing environmental solutions grounded in justice,” says Russell. “I’ve loved working with fellow staff members Irene DeMaris and Alli Parker embracing a vision of abundance to inspire Iowans to advance climate action. I’m grateful to have worked with an amazing board of directors willing to invest in new leadership and new approaches. My husband, Patrick Standley, and I look forward to continuing to support the amazing work being done with our financial and volunteer support for Iowa IPL.”
Iowa IPL will continue to expand our Faith Farms & Climate into four new communities over the next year. We’ll be adding rural clergy to our climate conversations with farmers in these four communities. Iowa IPL is fully invested in uplifting farmer and rural voices on climate solutions. With this expanded project, we will be advancing farmer innovation on their farms that deliver both water quality/quantity and climate solutions. We also look forward to recruiting a new group of Called to Climate Action Iowa college student leaders in February. We are currently recruiting signatures for the 2021-22 Called to Climate Action faith statement on the climate crisis.
“As a farm kid from southwest Iowa, I’m proud that we’ve been doing unique and creative work in empowering new leadership for climate action from Iowa’s farmers,” says John Stender-Custer, president of the board. “I’m also grateful that we are in a strong position to keep growing our network of rural leaders focused on solving the climate crisis. We are committed to advancing the kinds of farmer-led solutions this administration is proposing and being led by fellow Iowan, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. It’s exciting to see Matt moving from Iowa IPL into his new leadership role to help Iowa farmers and the staff at FSA embrace opportunities for environmental solutions from Iowa farms.”
“I love working at Iowa IPL because we truly live into our mission, and that mission has been strengthened and steered by Matt Russell,” says DeMaris. “Matt has been both a mentor and a friend, and he will be missed. Yet, Iowa IPL is positioned to continue to deliver on our mission through the expansion of Faith Farms & Climate, Called to Climate Action student leadership program, and all our state-wide advocacy efforts. I am committed to the Iowa IPL mission and am excited to start this new chapter as we continue to grow.”
As Matt moves into a statewide leadership role with USDA and the Biden-Harris administration, we look forward to opportunities to partner even more with Iowa farmers, farm organizations, rural leaders, and Iowa’s communities of faith.
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Contact: Irene DeMaris, Iowa IPL • 515-216-4895 • idemaris@iowafaithandclimate.org