Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
WAHLERT, Teresa
WAHLERT, Teresa. (Dubuque, IA-- ). Business Leader. Wahlert began her career as an assistant analyst in Data Systems for Northwestern Bell in Omaha in 1970. She held a variety of positions in Data Systems and Accounting. In 1981, she became District Manager-Finance at AT&T headquarters in New York. She returned to Omaha in 1983 as the General Finance Manager. In 1986, she became Assistant Vice President-Finance for U.S. West.
Wahlert had previously been the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Des Moines Partnership. Her responsibilities included operational oversight of the Partnership’s $7 million annual budget and maintaining alliances with business, education and governmental groups throughout the community.
Wahlert was formerly Regional Vice President and Arizona’s Vice President of Policy and Law for Qwest Services Corporation. She retired from Qwest in August, 2002 after 32 years of service that included positions as Vice President for U.S. West in both Iowa and North Dakota. On January 1, 1995, Wahlert became the first female to head the firm's Iowa operations which employed 2,300 people and had 750,000 customers. She directed the Company’s legislative efforts that resulted in the passage of two major bills in North Dakota and eight major bills in Iowa, dealing with regulations. In Arizona, she directed the transition to digital switching in the state, the start of alternative form of regulation, and the improvement in service quality benchmarks.
In February 2004, Teresa Wahlert was named President and Chief Operating Officer of Mid-America Group, a regional real estate, investment and development firm.
Wahlert has been a member of the University of Iowa Henry B. Tippie College Board of Visitors; Wells Fargo of Iowa Community Board; and Greater Des Moines Partnership Board of Directors. She served as the 2000 Chairperson of the Greater Des Moines Partnership. She has been named a Business Record Female Business Woman of the Year (2003); Business Record Woman of Influence (2004); and was an inductee into the Iowa Business Hall of Fame (2004).
Wahlert has been featured in the book, “Success on Our Own Terms.” She holds a Master of Science in Business as a Sloan Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She received a Master in Business Administration from Creighton University and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from St. Mary’s at Notre Dame.
On December 8, 2010 Governor-elect Terry Branstad anounced Teresa Wahlert as head of Iowa Workforce Development in the Branstad/Reynolds administration. Iowa Workforce Development was formed in 1996 to provide Iowa businesses and employees with a broad organization of services and education.
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