Rep. Deborah Berry Delivers Commencement Speech

State Representative Deborah Berry delivered the commencement address at the Hawkeye Community College Spring Graduation ceremony on May 14, 2010.

Representative Deborah Berry

Representative Deborah Berry is a native of Waterloo as well as a graduate of Hawkeye Community College. She began her political career in January 2000 when she was elected to the Waterloo City Council for the Fourth Ward where she was the only minority and only woman serving. She is a champion of justice, courageously standing to defend those issues that negatively and disproportionately affect her community.

Representative Berry is currently serving a fourth term in the Iowa House of Representatives. She serves on several standing committees including Public Safety, Human Resources, and Judiciary committees as well as on the Health and Human Services Appropriations committee. She is a proven leader and an outspoken advocate of education and the well-being of children, seniors, and those underrepresented. She led legislation to keep children safe from online predators; to remove weapons from the homes of convicted domestic abusers, and to continue funding for Iowa’s community colleges, who contribute greatly to the state’s work force through education and jobs. Drawing on her former work as Site Coordinator of afterschool programs for at-risk youth, Representative Berry introduced landmark legislation that gives all of Iowa’s children access to before- and after-school programs in communities throughout the state.

She has many honors to her credit, including the 2009 Friend of Nursing Award, the 2009 Outstanding Service Award supporting long-term health care; and the 2005 Citizen of the Year Award by Afro American Community Broadcasting, Inc. These are just a few of the many awards she has received.

Representative Berry believes in community involvement. Some of her recent involvements include Advisory Board member of the Allen Child Protection Center, UNI Accountability Task Team member, a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Black Hawk County Chapter, and Iowa State Disproportionate Minority Contact Committee.

Representative Berry received an Associate of Applied Science degree from Hawkeye Institute of Technology, a Bachelor of Science degree from Upper Iowa University, and is completing a Master of Arts degree from the University of Northern Iowa.