Director Staff
Resume:
Juli Probasco-Sowers
Perry, IA 50220
Phone: 515-***-**** E-mail: ************@*****.***
Rebuild Iowa Office (RIO), Communications Director
Nov. 19, 2010-Present
Duties:
• Lead, plan and coordinate public relations operations of RIO.
o Set up interviews, did interviews and assigned other officials to do interviews for 30
Flood Awareness Month radio and television interviews in late February and early
March, potentially reaching thousands of Iowans.
• Manage press inquiries, interviews, news releases and internal documents such as a transition
plan, disaster recovery framework for submittal to the Iowa Legislature and the Governor’s
office.
• Assist with design, writing, editing and publishing special and periodic RIO reports, news
releases, and articles for publications by researching and organizing information to interpret,
explain, and promote RIO’s recovery and disaster preparation activities.
o Written in excess of 300 news releases.
o Assisted in writing/editing nine quarterly reports
o Design, report and write a news release series titled “Working to Recover”
• Coordinate activities with the Governor’s Office.
o Set up visitation schedules, coordinated governor, other dignitaries during more than 15
one-year disaster commemoration events.
• Research information and write talking points for staff members, particularly the Executive
Director and the Chief of Staff, as well as for Legislative and federal agency briefings.
o Talking points for the Iowa House Budget Oversight Subcommittee
o Briefing for the Civil Works Review Board, Washington, D.C.
o Talking points for the National Commission on Children in Disasters, hosted in Iowa
o Talking points about business programs and assistance for the 2008 recovery to the
National Chamber of Commerce, Washington D.C.
o Talking points for the International Economic Development Council’s annual
conference, Ohio
o Talking points for the National Hurricane Conference, Florida.
• Participate in public speaking engagements and present on behalf of RIO.
Rebuild Iowa Office (RIO), Information Specialist 2
Jan. 20, 2009-Nov. 19, 2010
Duties:
• Planned and conducted communications necessary for staff, public and legislative informational
needs.
• Conducted research to plan and organize media events, tours and campaigns.
o Set up all logistics for several flood forums
o Set up logistics for more than 15 one-year commemoration events
o Set up logistics for 11 flood seminars
• Established media tours involving interviews with radio stations, newspapers and television.
o Set up 30 radio and television interviews for Flood Awareness month during March in
2009, 2010 and 2011.
• Served as the interim director and conducted media interviews when the Communications
Director was not available.
• Wrote, edited and designed RIO special and periodic reports, articles, news releases and editorial
pieces for numerous publications.
• Frequently interacted with the general public, external organizations, other federal and state
agencies to help explain and interpret the varied RIO services, as well as other programs available
for disaster-affected Iowans.
• Assisted other team members in keeping information up to date on the Web site, as well as entries
on Facebook and Twitter.
The Des Moines Register, Staff and Outdoor Writer
May 1997-Dec. 1, 2008
Duties:
• Creation of four to seven articles a week for use on the front page, the Metro Iowa section, Sports
and Johnston Register.
• Writing, photography and photography planning, news budget planning for The Johnston
Register, wrote one column a week for the Sports Section in The Des Moines Sunday Register.
This involved taking and arranging photos to go with the outdoor articles, and producing project
articles for Metro-Iowa and the Sports Section.
• Made multiple daily entries of news events on the Register’s Web site, as well as blog three times
a week.
• Monitored state, county and city Web sites for information and story ideas.
o Hosted an on-line information session with an Iowa Department of Natural Resources
upland wildlife biologist as the guest, taking questions from people visiting the site
online. More than 80 people participated in the session while the DNR guest answered
the questions in real time.
• Wrote for and monitored the Outdoors Page on the Register Web site and worked with the person
who formulated the page to do improvements in content and appearance.
The Des Moines Register, Assistant Iowa editor
May 1993-May 1997
Duties:
• Oversight of four bureau reporters
• Coordination of news-gathering from around the state but outside the greater Des Moines area
• Maintaining and recruiting more than 300 news stringers and freelance writers.
• Handling budget and payroll for the news stringers and freelance writers.
• Made article assignments.
• Edited for staff reporters and freelance writers.
• Writing, designing and mailing the monthly stringer newsletter.
Freelance writer
1995-present
Duties:
• Write periodic freelance articles for various publications and companies including a publication
for Mediacom, Boat USA, Pheasants Forever (both national publications), Iowa Game & Fish, a
national magazine that creates editions specific to each state.
• Write an on-line outdoor column for “In Your Back-Yard Iowa,” a Web site connected to a
television show of the same name.
The Perry Chief, Editor
December 1985- May 1993
Duties:
• Responsible for the content and design of the 3,500-circulation weekly newspaper.
• Managed content.
• Made story assignments.
• Made photo assignments.
• Edited all articles appearing in paper.
• Wrote stories from features to hard news.
• Responsible for all special editions promoting community events and handled public relations for
the newspaper such as speeches for civic organizations.
• Managed full-time news staff, plus a summer intern.
o Hired full-time staff and interns
o Evaluated staff performance
o Mentored staff and interns
o Conducted weekly content/assignment meetings
Other work experience:
Adjunct Professor for Drake University
1999-present
Duties:
• Teach one class a semester of Beginning News Writing in the School of Journalism and Mass
Communication at Drake University in Des Moines.
o Each class averages 18 students
o Each student must write 12-15 articles during the semester
Education
• Master’s in Communication Leadership, Drake University, December 2010. Degree stresses
ethics and leadership in communications and business.
• Bachelor of Arts, Journalism, minor in sociology, Drake University, May 1980.
• Associate Arts, Journalism, Grand View College, May 1978.
Continuing Education classes
• Shooting and editing video in iMovie ’10, March 2011
• Writing for the Web, March 2011
• Basics of HTML and CSS, April 2011
• Creating a blog/site using Wordpress.org, April 2011
Awards and Recognitions
• First place in editorial writing from the Iowa Newspaper Association, plus numerous first, second
and third place awards for writing, layout and design while a writer, then editor of The Perry
Chief.
• Named the 2008 Outdoorsman of the Year by the Izaak Walton League of Des Moines and WHO
Radio’s Sportsman’s Notebook for disseminating valuable outdoor information to the public.
• Des Moines Register breaking news story of the year, twice.
• Winner of the John Madson Outdoor Writers Fellowship from Outdoor Writers Association of
America.
• Third place national award in the angler category for the Outdoor Writers Association of America.
• Governor’s Volunteer Award
References
• Tina Potthoff, Spokesperson, MidAmerican Energy (former RIO Communications Director)
o Cell Phone: 515-***-**** E-mail: tinapotthoff @yahoo.com
• Lt. Gen. Ron Dardis, Executive Director, Rebuild Iowa Office (through Jan. 14, 2010) and
Retired Adjutant General of Iowa
o Cell Phone: 515-***-**** E-Mail: **********@***.***
• Kathleen Richardson, Director, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Drake
University
o Phone 515-***-****; E-mail, ********.**********@*****.***
• Stephanie Pratt Mitra, Attorney at Law, Outten & Golden LLP, New York
o Phone 617-***-**** E-Mail: *******************@*****.***
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