Des Moines Sun

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has announced changes to his Iowa office leadership, promoting Matt Rector to State Director and Penny Vacek to Deputy State Director. Both will take on their new responsibilities beginning September 2, following the retirement of Carol Olson on August 31. Olson has served as Grassley’s State Director since 2018.

“I’m very grateful for Carol’s contributions and her service to the people of Iowa. Under her leadership, my office has strengthened our constituent services to Iowans and increased our outreach to communities across the state,” Grassley said. “Matt and Penny have served as hardworking members of my staff for many years, and their commitment has been evident throughout their time as Regional Directors in Waterloo and Davenport, respectively. They are well suited to step into these new roles to work on behalf of Iowans. I’m thankful for the talented public servants on my staff who help me represent Iowans in Washington.”

Rector is from Bremer County and joined Grassley’s team in 2018 as a Regional Director based in Waterloo, covering North Central Iowa. He focused on community outreach with local organizations such as chambers of commerce, governments, and businesses. Before working for Grassley, Rector was an agronomy specialist in production agriculture and a financial advisor at Thrivent Financial. He also manages his family farm.

Vacek resides in Oxford Junction and began her career with Grassley’s office in 1992 as a constituent services specialist. She became Regional Director for Southeastern Iowa in 1999, working out of Davenport. Over more than thirty years representing Grassley, she has engaged regularly with constituents, businesses, and officials at various levels.

Olson lives in Des Moines and held several roles both in Washington D.C., where she was a Legislative Assistant handling policy issues from 1987 to 1991, and later as State Director starting again in 2018 after returning from other positions including Deputy Secretary of State under Paul Pate.

The State Director position oversees Iowa-based staff responsible for constituent services—assisting residents with federal agencies—and community outreach efforts throughout the state. Grassley's offices are located in Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, Sioux City, and Waterloo.

Grassley's senior leadership team remains unchanged in Washington D.C., led by Chief of Staff Jennifer Davis along with Penne Barton (Deputy Chief), James Rice (Legislative Director), Clare Slattery (Communications), Kolan Davis (Staff Director for the Senate Judiciary Committee), and Rita Lari (Deputy Staff Director).