Business Leaders, Prominent Attorney Join Board of Trustees

The Simpson College Board of Trustees appointed four new board members during its May 16 meeting. Joining the board are Ann Dieleman ’92, Paige Fiedler ’87, Jimmy Kent and Lori Schaefer-Weaton.

The new board members have distinguished themselves in business and law, and have strong connections to Simpson.

Ann Dieleman graduated from Simpson in 1992 with a degree in management and communication studies and holds an MBA from Drake University. Dieleman has served as executive director and CEO of PIMA since 2018. Dieleman is a board member with PIMA and Global Insurance Accelerator, strategic business adviser and Certified Executive Coach (CEC), where she works closely with executives, founders, owners and investors across the U.S.  She is also part of ICF International Coaching Federation, National Association of Corporate Directors, PIMA and Collaborative Gain. Dieleman also served several years on Simpson’s Alumni Board and is a current member of Simpson’s Entrepreneurship Task Force.

Paige Fiedler graduated from Simpson in 1987 with a degree in business administration and management. She earned her J.D. from Drake University Law School. She is the founding partner of Fiedler Law Firm, which specializes in employment law. Her numerous honors and awards include being one of only two Iowa attorneys named to the Inner Circle of Advocates — the top 100 plaintiff attorneys in the U.S. — in 2024. Fiedler has also earned the Alumni Achievement Award and Double S Award from Simpson College.

Jimmy Kent has served as president of Grain Processing Corporation (GPC) of KENT Corporation since 2023. GPC is a family-owned subsidiary of Kent Corporation, based in Muscatine, Iowa. Kent’s numerous ties to Simpson include his father, Gage, and late grandfather, James, serving as honorary trustees. The Kent family established the Kent-Stein Foundation Endowed Scholarship in 1990 and provided the lead gift for the Kent Campus Center constructed in 2012. Kent holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business from Iowa State University.

Since 2004, Lori Schaefer-Weaton has served as president of Agri-Industrial Plastics in Fairfield, Iowa, a certified custom industrial blow molder of large-scale parts used in a wide variety of industries. Her many honors include the STEP Ahead Award from the National Association of Manufacturers. She also serves on numerous boards including the Iowa ABI Board and the Elevate Iowa Advisory Board. Weaton’s grandmother, Florence Smith, attended Simpson in 1930 and her legacy was honored with the establishment of the Kenneth and Florence Weir Smith Endowed Scholarship inn 2012. Weaton has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and marketing from Valparaiso and an MBA from Northwestern University.

The Simpson Board of Trustees features 45 members, including five who serve in an ex-officio capacity. For a complete listing of members, visit  https://www.simpson.edu/board-of-trustees/