Plenary: Introduction of Midwest Governors' Energy and Climate Platform      

Governor Chet Culver began his career as an environmental and consumer advocate in the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. After receiving his Master of Arts in Teaching at Drake University in 1994, he taught government and history at Roosevelt High School and Hoover High School in Des Moines, where he also coached both football and basketball.

As a teacher and a coach, Governor Culver drew on his experiences playing both sports in high school and playing football on scholarship at Virginia Tech.

In 1998, Governor Culver was elected as Iowa’s 29th Secretary of State and the youngest Secretary of State in the nation and was re-elected to the position in 2002. As Secretary of State, he created the Iowa Student Political Awareness Club (ISPAC), a nonpartisan statewide student organization dedicated to increasing civic and community participation among Iowa’s young people.

Governor Culver and his wife, Mari, have two young children, Clare Honour and John William. Prior to moving to Terrace Hill, the family resided in West Des Moines. Governor Culver is a member of the Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Governor Culver is the youngest of four children of former Iowa Senator John Culver and Ann Cooper Culver. Senator Culver served Iowa in the United States House of Representatives from 1965 to 1974 and in the United States Senate from 1974 to 1980.