Meet new chair of House Conservative Climate Caucus
RepublicEN hosted a webinar on June 5th to introduce and interview the new chair of the House Conservative Climate Caucus, Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA). She takes over from John Curtis, (R-UT), who is not running for re-election to the House because he is running for Senator in Utah.
Dr. Miller-Meeks was born in 1955. She enlisted in the United States Army at the age of 18 and served for 24 years, including as a nurse, physician, and member of the United States Army Reserve. She retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel. Using the educational benefits from the Army, Miller-Meeks earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Texas Christian University, a Master of Science in education from the University of Southern California, and a Doctor of Medicine from University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
After leaving the Army she operated a private ophthalmology practice in Ottumwa, Iowa, until 2008. She also served as the first female president of the Iowa Medical Society. She was the first woman on the faculty of the University of Iowa’s department of ophthalmology and visual sciences, and worked as a representative from Iowa to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. In 2010, Governor Terry Branstad appointed Miller-Meeks director of the Iowa Department of Public Health; she resigned in 2014 to run for Congress, the first of three unsuccessful runs prior to winning in a swing district in 2020 by 6 votes.