Kathleen Paulek

KEOSAUQUA, IOWA – Tom O’Donnell has named three veteran educators as co-chairs for his Iowa House of Representatives campaign, touting his rural public education advocacy.

Two of the chairs also served on O’Donnell’s 2024  House campaign: Anita Hampton, a 40-year early childhood educator in Mt. Pleasant, and Justin “Jay” C. Thompson, K-8 at-risk school counselor/success coordinator for the Fairfield Community School District. Joining them is retired Van Buren County teacher and counselor Kathleen Paulek of rural Keosauqua.

“I’ve talked to dozens of people in House District 87, and all agree we must preserve and strengthen rural public schools,” O’Donnell said. “It’s an honor to have these master educators standing with us and with our district’s schools. Their communities know, love and trust them.”

Anita Hampton

Hampton started as a transitional first-grade teacher in Mt. Pleasant, then spent 20 years as owner, director and lead teacher of four-year-olds at Grasshopper Green Preschool on the Iowa Wesleyan University campus. She also started and directed Project REACH, a Henry County Iowa Empowerment/Early Childhood Iowa project that provided support and improvement plans for childcare providers. She has served on the Iowa Association for the Education of Young Children board and advised Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack during his campaign and administration.

Jay Thompson

Thompson has held his post for 10 years. He has degrees from Simpson College, Iowa State University and Liberty University. Before earning his masters in school counseling at Liberty, Thompson was a federal probation officer in southern Iowa for 14 years and a youth caseworker for four years at Orchard Place/PACE in Des Moines. He’s a volunteer mentor to three middle school boys and officiates middle- and high-school football and basketball games.

Kathleen Paulek

Paulek taught independent living skills to developmentally disabled adults for Indian Hills Community College, was a work experience coordinator for high school special-education students for Southern Prairie Area Education Agency, and taught seventh and eighth-grade English in Van Buren County schools.  She retired as an elementary/junior high counselor at Van Buren in 2009.

Paulek and her late husband, David, directed theater productions for Down River Theatre, Van Buren middle and high schools, and the Van Buren Players. She’s president of the Van Buren Players and secretary for the Van Buren Education Foundation and Van Buren Retired School Personnel.

Paulek steps into her campaign role in place of 2024 chair Gwen Pedrick, a long-time teacher in Mt. Pleasant and Van Buren County schools who tragically died on April 6.

House District 87 includes Van Buren County, southern Jefferson County including Fairfield and Maharishi Vedic City, and Tippecanoe, Center and Salem townships in Henry County, including Mt. Pleasant.