2021 Iowa Democratic Party Hall of Fame Inductees

Dave Loebsack, Outstanding Elected Official

Dave Loebsack represented the people of Iowa’s Second Congressional District for 14 years, fighting for the needs and priorities of working families across Iowa. His experience growing up in poverty, with the support of so many coming together to help make his dreams possible, reinforced his desire to ensure everyone has the same opportunities he had to succeed.

Before being elected to Congress in 2006, Dave was a Professor of Politics at Cornell College for 24 years and is now a Professor Emeritus. His wife, Terry, taught second grade in Mount Vernon for 28 years before retiring. Dave and Terry reside in Mount Vernon and have four grown children and three grandchildren.

Amy Adams, Outstanding Leadership

Amy Adams, and her husband, Ben, are raising their three children in Fayette County where Amy is currently the Secretary for the county party. She also serves as a delegate to the First Congressional District Democratic Central Committee.

Amy was a high school English teacher for 18 years. She was a proud member of ISEA for all 13 years she taught in Iowa and was on her school’s negotiating team for the local education association.

Amy is passionate about organizing and helping others find their voice on important issues, especially in rural areas of the state. She got involved in activism during the fight for Iowa’s collective bargaining rights in 2017. She helped organize protests in Cedar Rapids, using her organizing skills and “teacher voice” to organize for change.

Amy currently works as an organizer for Progress Iowa and Iowa Citizen Action Network and is a volunteer board member for Indivisible Iowa representing the First Congressional District.

Paula Martinez, Outstanding SCC Member

Paula Martinez currently serves the Chair of the Labor Caucus. Born and raised in Des Moines, she’s held many roles in Democratic politics from Co-Chair of the Warren County Democratic Party to Chair of the Latino Caucus to Board Member for Emerge Iowa.

Paula has been active in her community and the fight for liberty and justice for all since 1972. A proud member of the Brown and Black Forum (co-founded by her mother Mary Campos), she also worked for the Spanish Speaking Commision under Governor Robert D. Ray and received the Latina Leadership Award in 2004. She has also served many roles within LULAC, including State Director of LULAC Iowa. She is currently a member of LULAC Council 307, the Hispanic American Legion Auxiliary Unit 731, and Building Bridges of Des Moines. She volunteers for The United States Hispanic Leadership Institute and was a member of the State of Iowa’s Adult Literacy Council with First Lady Christie Vilsack.

Along with serving the Latinx community, Paula has been a major advocate for labor groups. She has been a member of AFSCME since 1996, currently serving as President of the AFSCME Local 3013 as well as Secretary Treasurer for AFSCME Council 61.

Paula and her husband Milton, a Vietnam War Veteran, have a blended family with 5 adult children and 13 grandchildren.

DiAnne Lerud-Chubb, Outstanding Chair

DiAnne Lerud-Chubb is the current co-chair of the Des Moines County Democratic Party. She is a lifelong educator – first as a high school English teacher in Mediapolis and later as an adjunct professor of English at Southeastern Community College in West Burlington. DiAnne is committed to the principles of Democratic politics and service to her community. When the Equal Rights Amendment vote came to Iowa the first time, she was on the state committee working to get that passed. While it didn’t pass statewide, it did pass in her home county. She was also an officer in the Women’s Caucus for many years.

DiAnne has two children, Don and DeAnna, 5 grandchildren, and 4 great grandchildren. When she can, she loves to socialize with her friends and family. She enjoys speaking with candidates and helping them run a winning campaign. If it’s not the candidates, then she’s out with volunteers and organizers, learning and listening to their ideas and suggestions.

Tom Courtney, Outstanding Chair

Tom Courtney graduated from Wapello High School in 1965 and served his country in the United States Air Force from 1966 to 1972. Courtney worked at Case Co. for 30 years and was a 2-term bargaining chair during his time there. He was appointed the UAW Production Safety Rep in 1988 and served there until his retirement in 2002.

Labor has always been in Tom Courtney’s heart. As a child, his mother worked at a plastic factory to help supplement the farm income where she joined the union, paying her dues even when money was tight. Taking the lessons his family taught him, Tom has been working to protect labor, including serving as a member of the Iowa Senate’s Labor Committee while in office.

He also served as a member of the steering committee for the SE IA Community Health Center. Courtney has served for the last 10 years on the Great River Hospice Board, and Tom is a current member of the Burlington School Board, and is Co-chair of the Des Moines County Democrats.

Athena Gilbraith, Outstanding Party Activist

Athena Gilbraith is the Secretary of the Iowa Democratic Black Caucus, The Press and Publicity Chairwoman, and co-chairwoman of the Davenport NAACP Political Action Committee, and founder of the Take Back Davenport Campaign. She is also a recent alumnae of the Emerge America Network.

Winner of the 2019 “Race Against Racism” award, the 2020 DAWN Awards Jo Ann Zimmerman Activist Award, and national media attention for the “Protest Against Racial Injustice and Hate” against a Unite the Right Organizer from Charlottesville, Athena dedicates her work to a future she sees deserving of our children. Athena became an activist while leading the charge against local gun reform and standing up for equity in policing, all to save her son’s and other Black children’s lives.

Alma Puga, Rising Star

Alma Puga lives in Denison, Iowa. Alma is a first-generation college graduate and the daughter of Mexican immigrants. She helped found LULAC Denison in October 2019 and currently serves as President. This past year, they were able to participate in the LULAC national scholarship, held a bilingual candidate forum and voter registration drives, as well as a virtual talent show fundraiser.

Along with her work with LULAC, she is a legal assistant and a board member of the Iowa Unity Coalition. In her free time, she enjoys drawing, painting, and traveling. Being Latina is part of her identity and she takes great pride in her culture.