IA-02: Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R)
PROFILE
About Miller-Meeks:
Mariannette Miller-Meeks dreamed of becoming a teacher, however, in 10th grade, she and her younger brother were severely burned in a kitchen fire. While at the hospital, she was treated by a physical therapist who went out of her way to make sure she recovered. She credits the kindness and selflessness of her therapist for inspiring her to become a doctor.
She left home at 16 and enrolled in community college. She later enlisted in the United States Army at 18, where she served for 24 years as a private, nurse, and doctor (ophthalmologist or eye diseases/surgery).
Miller-Meeks went into private practice in Ottumwa in 1997 and has remained there with husband Curt. They have two grown children, Jonathon and Taylor. In 2010, Gov. Terry Branstad appointed her director of the Iowa Department of Public Health where she served for three years.