Valentina Fominykh

If you know her, you would be surprised that as a young teen, she was sent to a school to become an electrician when her ballet ambitions were cut short. It’s a long life-trek from Siberia to Des Moines, Iowa. Along the way were stops in Kazakhstan where she was raised and later taught at the Pedagogical University. And then she moved to Moscow and eventually took a professorship at the USSR Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Along with teaching, her 20 years of work with the Soviet Olympic Committee, with the International Olympic Movement, and with the Soviet Chess Federation honed her communication and diplomacy skills.

Fominykh earned her PhD in Linguistics and has traveled and worked in more than 30 countries. She came to the States in 1990 to work on an Iowa-USSR joint food and agriculture partnership initiative. Valentina remained in Iowa and continued her work to maintain links between Iowa, Russia and other CIS countries throughout the last 19 years. In addition to her work, she has become active in her home community of Des Moines and in a number of national, statewide and community organizations, to include, the Board of Advisors for Iowa Sister States, the Iowa Council for International Understanding, and as President of Humanities Iowa Board of Directors.

“I’ve been associated with State Public Policy Group since 1993.  In assisting them in their public affairs and communications projects, it has given me the opportunity to create and sustain relationships with many different stakeholders and interest groups. And with SPPG’s international work and my own long-time experience working with NGOs, associations, governments, and businesses, it provides me wonderful opportunities.”

Valentina has a great deal of life experience, she has a strong academic background, and excellent communication skills, but she shouldn’t be trusted to repair the electrical short in your toaster.