Emily J. Shields has served as executive director of Iowa Campus Compact (IACC) since 2011. Iowa Campus Compact strengthens the capacity of colleges and universities to meet the civic mission of higher education. She is also an adjunct instructor at Grand View University teaching classes in business and liberal arts. Shields received a B.A. degree in journalism and political science from the University of Iowa and a master’s degree in philanthropy and nonprofit development at the University of Northern Iowa. Shields previously served as chief of staff for the Rebuild Iowa Office and as senate liaison and policy adviser to Iowa’s governor. She has worked in field organizing and fundraising on statewide and national campaigns and was the director of the 2006 Governor’s Inauguration. She also served as an AmeriCorps VISTA member in San Antonio, Texas.

Shields serves on the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service, the Grinnell Prize Review Committee, the Grand View University Business School Advisory Council and the Des Moines Civil and Human Rights Council. She has been recognized as a Des Moines Business Record Forty Under 40 honoree, received the 2008 Governor’s Excellence Award, and was a 2014 recipient of the AmeriCorps Alum Local Leadership Award.

Shields grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and has lived in Des Moines since 2005. Her and her husband have two children.