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Linda Yanney
iowacity@vistacorridorrecovery.org
Previous Education and Experience: I hold degrees in English and American Studies from the University of
Iowa. I’ve worked and taught in a variety of educational institutions and non-profit organizations.
My greatest strength as a VISTA is: I know my community pretty well, so I usually have at least some idea of who to call to start getting information for projects.
My greatest accomplishment as a VISTA: Guiding the transition of the Johnson County team from a 23-member post-flood summer corps, to a year-long group of three in 2008, then gearing up for a summer group of 21, and now a year-long team of 9 has been challenging and immensely gratifying. You can remind me I said that when this summer rolls around.
My projects: I’m the team lead for a group of 9 VISTAs in Johnson County. I work with community leaders to identify areas in the community where VISTAs can have the most impact. Our greatest effort has been helping the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County develop and launch programs for low-income residents, especially kids.
How I build capacity: I listen. And I ask questions. Then I listen some more. You can do all kinds of stuff for people, but if you don’t listen to them, you’re going to miss what’s really important to them, what will really change their lives.
Fun fact about me: I used to know how to hitch a team of 4 horses, although I would not bet that I still could without some practice.