IPRA Today - Welcome, Debbie Trueblood!

Debbie Trueblood is excited to be the new Executive Director of IPRA, beginning Aug. 1!

Debbie is a social worker with a drive to grow organizations so they can better serve their mission and their members to do the most good. In the management arena, Debbie’s strongest skills are with financial management and financial growth. With her former organization, she worked with volunteers and staff to build the reserve fund. They are on track to finish with more than $1 million at year's end, an increase of $400k in just one year. Additionally, Debbie’s track record includes record-breaking success with membership growth, conference attendance and abstract submissions. Debbie is experienced in membership recruitment and identifying ways to better serve a multi-tiered audience.

In the advocacy arena, Debbie was successful both in protecting the association constituency from damaging legislation as well as working with legislators to write, introduce and pass laws designed to advance missions. In 2005, Debbie led the passage of a law in Illinois which spread to 15 states in the following two years.

Debbie earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from MacMurray College and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Jane Addams School of Social Work. She is a graduate of several advanced learning programs, including the Dunn Fellowship program for future government leaders and the Illinois Women’s Institute for Leadership, which trains women to run for political office. Debbie also graduated from the Institute for Organization Management (IOM), a four-year program which granted her a certificate in nonprofit management. She is a certified association executive (CAE).

Debbie will build on IPRA’s strong foundation, focusing on advancing the voice of parks and recreation, maintaining fiscal responsibility, improving membership benefits and education programs and working with the leadership to continue to implement the strategic plan toward an even stronger IPRA.

Ancel, Glink, Diamond, Bush, DiCianni & Rolek, P.C.

536 East Avenue, LaGrange, IL 60525 | Phone: 708-588-2280 | Fax : 708-354-0535