BUTLER COUNTY, IOWA – U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today announced he has promoted Matt Rector to State Director and Penny Vacek to Deputy State Director. Rector and Vacek will assume their new roles on September 2. Carol Olson will retire on August 31, after serving as Grassley’s State Director since 2018.

“I’m very grateful for Carol’s contributions and her service to the people of Iowa. Under her leadership, my office has strengthened our constituent services to Iowans and increased our outreach to communities across the state,” Grassley said. “Matt and Penny have served as hardworking members of my staff for many years, and their commitment has been evident throughout their time as Regional Directors in Waterloo and Davenport, respectively. They are well suited to step into these new roles to work on behalf of Iowans. I’m thankful for the talented public servants on my staff who help me represent Iowans in Washington.”

A native of Bremer County, Rector started in Grassley’s office in 2018 as a Regional Director covering North Central Iowa, based in Waterloo. In that role, he led community outreach, connecting with Iowans including chambers of commerce, local governments and businesses. Previously, he worked in production agriculture as an agronomy specialist and as a financial advisor at Thrivent Financial. He is also a sixth generation Iowa farmer and a llama farmer.

Vacek, a resident of Oxford Junction, started in Grassley’s office as a constituent services specialist in 1992. In 1999, she was promoted to Regional Director for Southeastern Iowa, based in Davenport. Representing Grassley for over three decades, she meets with constituents and businesses, as well as state, local and federal leaders.

A Des Moines resident, Olson has served in Grassley’s Washington, D.C., and Iowa offices. From 1987 to 1991, Olson was a Legislative Assistant in Washington handling policy issues covering education, banking and social services. Olson returned to Iowa and rejoined the senator’s staff in 2018 as State Director. In between these roles with Grassley, she worked as a Deputy Secretary of State under Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, as Staff Director at the Iowa State Senate and as Manager of Community Services for Thrivent Financial.

Background:

The State Director oversees Grassley's Iowa-based staff. This includes constituent service specialists, who help Iowans needing assistance with federal agencies, and outreach staff members, who assist the senator by providing another set of eyes and ears in the community and engaging one-on-one with Iowans. Grassley has offices in Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, Sioux City and Waterloo.  

Grassley’s senior leadership team in Washington remains the same. It includes Jennifer Davis, Chief of Staff; Penne Barton, Deputy Chief of Staff; James Rice, Legislative Director; and Clare Slattery, Communications Director. Kolan Davis is Staff Director for the Senate Judiciary Committee where Grassley is chairman, and Rita Lari is Deputy Staff Director.

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