Stacy Cervenka is the Director of the Iowa Department for the Blind and a middle-grade author and writer with over 20 years of experience. Her middle-grade novel, Roxie In Color, co-written with Diane Debrovner, is set to be released by Candlewick Press in summer 2026. .

Stacy worked for five years as a Legislative Assistant to former U.S. Senator Sam Brownback. In this capacity, she focused on disability rights, vocational rehabilitation, adoption, foster care, child protection, juvenile justice, Native American and tribal policy, labor, transportation, NASA, commercial space, postal service issues, and North Korean human rights. She served as the Director of Public Policy for the American Foundation for the Blind and as the Senior Director of Policy for RespectAbility. She currently holds the position of Director at the Iowa Department for the Blind, working to empower blind and low vision Iowans to achieve gainful employment.

Stacy earned a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Texas Tech University and worked as a government program analyst at the California Department of Rehabilitation and as the Executive Officer of the California State Rehabilitation Council. 

Stacy has experience as a writer for the Omaha Daily Record on federal, state, and local politics, as well as non-profit organizations in southeastern Nebraska. She was also a reviewer for Good Housekeeping magazine’s Children’s Book Awards and Family Travel Awards.

As a passionate advocate for parents with disabilities, Stacy served as the Chair of the Blind Parents Group of the National Federation of the Blind. She currently serves on the Consumer Advisory Panel for the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation, which invests in innovative strategies to empower youth with disabilities.

Stacy divides her time between Des Moines and Lincoln, Nebraska, where she and her husband Greg are raising their two children, Leo and Josephine. They enjoy ice sports, judo, rock-climbing, fishing, and traveling as a family.