Kristin Fairholm

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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Kristin Fairholm has been with EyesOpenIowa for eleven years, first as the Community Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program (CAPP) Program Manager. In fall 2011, she became the organization’s fourth Executive Director and since then has expanded and grown the organization, with a focus on quality training and leadership on adolescent sexual health. She represents EOI with the media, funders, and colleague organizations, and in this capacity, has grown and positioned EyesOpenIowa as a leader in sexual health education field nationwide.

Kristin has more than 25 years experience in social work, non-profits, and government. This experience includes early childhood, child abuse prevention, foster care, administration, and program management. She is a certified trainer of trainers in many evidence-based sexual health interventions. She also specializes in organizational development, advocacy, and fundraising. Kristin is passionate about helping educators reach their full potential in order to provide young people with the quality sexual health education that they deserve.

Gail Cowan, MSW

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

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Gail Cowan, MSW, is EOI's Director of Development. She works closely with EOI staff to manage the organization's foundation, corporate, and individual giving. She has also been involved in the development of fee-for-service programming to grow and diversify EOI's funding. Prior to joining EOI in 2014, Gail was the Director of Development at the national adolescent sexual health organization, Advocates for Youth. She has over 20 years experience in fundraising, mostly for teen pregnancy prevention and reproductive rights. Gail has also worked as a mental health therapist and manages her own life coaching business on the side. She lives in Chicago with her husband and three children.

Kelley Skerik

ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR

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Kelley is the Administrative Coordinator at EyesOpenIowa. She works with the WISE and Iowans Optimizing Adolescent Health projects at by providing administrative support, assisting with trainings, outreach and working with school personnel. Kelley has had the opportunity to work for EOI previously and is thrilled to rejoin the staff on this important journey.

Kelley earned her B.A. in Human Services from GrandView University. She lives in Winterset with her husband and two daughters. Kelley loves to travel, go boating and attending her daughter’s sporting events.

Greta

Implementation Specialist

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Greta is a Implementation Specialist at EOI. She works closely with Des Moines Public Schools and partner organizations to deliver quality sexual health education. She also maintains the organization’s social media pages.

She graduated from the University of Northern Iowa. She earned her B.A. in Public Health with an emphasis in Women's Health. Greta also has a minor in Gerontology. In her free time, she likes to keep up with some reading and binge the latest Netflix shows.

Val Cumming

Training Specialist

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Val is the Training Specialist, providing in-person and online training opportunities to new and emerging Adolescent Sexual Health Educators within the state of Iowa and beyond.

Val comes to EyesOpenIowa from Waterloo, having previously worked as a health educator at Together For Youth, an organization focused on adolescent pregnancy prevention and teen parent support. She is excited to use her experience in the field to help other health educators reach their highest potential.

In her spare time, she enjoys live music, travel, and exploring Des Moines.

Emily Gillon

DIRECTOR OF TRAINING

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Emily is the Director of Training and leads the organization’s robust training department. She designs classes and trains educators, other professionals, parents and caregivers, and advocates of all ages on a wide variety of topics and curricula.

She also travels across the country training sexual health educators and trainers on sex education best practices and skill development. Emily is a nationally certified trainer of trainers in a wide variety of evidence-based and evidence-informed sex education curricula. As a nationally certified trainer, Emily has completed a rigorous credentialing process for a variety of popular curricula.

Prior to her work as a trainer, Emily implemented sex education in classrooms and colleges across Iowa. Outside of training rooms, Emily partners with local faith communities to encourage and facilitate sex education and resources.

Elliott

LEAD IMPLEMENTATION SPECIALIST

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Elliott joined the EyesOpenIowa team in 2020. Elliott is EOI’s Lead Implementation Specialist, facilitating comprehensive sexual health education with Des Moines area schools and community partners. Elliott also oversees EOI’s Youth Leadership programming.

Elliott earned a B.A. in English from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. They live in Beaverdale with their spouse, two cats, and a dog. Outside of work, Elliott enjoys traveling, going to concerts and theatre, and volunteering with First Unitarian Church of Des Moines. You can probably find them at a local coffee shop!  

Alexis Awe

Marketing and Social Media Manager

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Alexis Awe is EyesOpenIowa’s Marketing and Social Media Manager. Alexis joined EOI in March of 2022 and is the first to take on this new coordination opportunity with EOI. Alexis is a native of and lives in Mason City.

Alexis’ position will work with educators to provide accurate sexual health information through the agency’s social media platforms.

Alexis has a robust background in healthcare, marketing and graphic design. She is a graduate of Buena Vista University with a marketing major. Her philosophy is education=power. In her spare time, Alexis likes to play with her nephews and 2 cats. Alexis is also a podcast fanatic and continuous learner.