Jada Walker Joins the Prevention Team

Hello! 

My name is Jada Walker and I am delighted to be a new member of the Helping Services team. I’ll be working to educate and coach youth to help them discover their strengths and make healthy choices while working to prevent underage drinking, tobacco, and drug abuse. I serve Howard, Winneshiek, Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette, and Delaware.

I live north of Decorah with my husband and our two dogs, Honeybee and Clover. We moved here from Colorado two years ago, though I grew up in SW Minnesota, I’m happy to now call NE Iowa home. 

I bring more than 20 years of experience in education, along with experience as a school secretary, pre-k teacher, paraprofessional, and facilitating crisis and suicide prevention trainings for youth and adults. Through these roles, I’ve seen how much it matters to feel connected, know someone cares, and have reasons to feel hopeful about the future. 

I care deeply about people and the things that help us thrive! I believe in upstream prevention – nurturing the strengths, relationships, sense of belonging, and joy that help communities make healthy choices and navigate life’s ups and downs. I’m passionate about building on what gives us life and fostering optimism in our everyday lives. 

A fun fact about me: Growing up, my nickname was “Jada Tomada,” and I liked it enough to make it permanent with a tomato tattoo. 🍅