The members of the Dallas County Area Retired School Personnel Association (DCARSPA) decided this year’s theme would be Celebrating Our Successes, with programs featuring former students.
They kicked off the year Oct. 4 with 2000 Perry High School graduate Miriam DeDios Woodward as the guest speaker. DeDios Woodward related her journey since coming to the US in kindergarten and ending up in Perry in 1996 as a middle school student along with her two brothers and sister.
She earned her bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University, her master’s of business administration from the University of Iowa and she is a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s Leading Change and Organizational Renewal executive program.
DeDios Woodward is currently the CEO of Coopera Consulting and a senior vice president for Affiliates Management Company, the parent organization of Coopera. She helps credit unions and other organizations reach and serve the Hispanic market as an opportunity for growth and financial inclusion.
DeDios Woodward was named a 2016 Woman to Watch by the Credit Union Times and the 2015 Latino Business Person of the Year by the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa. She serves on the board of trustees of Grand View University and as a board member of the Food Bank of Iowa.
Her subsequent education and rise as CEO made many of those in the audience who had connected with her as a student very proud.
