Iowa House of Representatives District 32

Ruth Ann Gaines taught high school for more than 40 years, and has taught Speech and Drama at Des Moines Area Community College since 1971. She has developed and taught diversity courses to teachers since 1979 at the Heartland Area Education Agency in Des Moines, and most recently at Viterbo University Iowa Center in West Des Moines. Among the many initiatives she created for the Des Moines Public Schools is Sisters for Success, a mentorship program for African-American and African middle- and high-school girls. Gaines received a B.A. degree in Drama/Speech in 1969 from Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa and a M.A. in Dramatic Art from the University of California in Santa Barbara.