Nicole Facio

Interim Board President
Nicole Facio is a partner at New Point Law Firm in Ames. She has been a practicing attorney since 2010 and previously worked as a social worker for the Dept. of Health and Human Services in Story County before attending law school. Nicole has been on the board since 2011 and served as Board President from 2017 to 2023.

Craig Evans

Craig Evans graduated from Buena Vista University in January of 1977. Shortly thereafter he began a career in community-based corrections. Craig worked 33 years for the Second Judicial District Department of Correctional Services. While with DCS Craig held positions as a probation parole officer, Ames Area Office Supervisor and District Treatment Director. After retiring from DCS Craig accepted a position at The Center for Creative Justice. He began working part time but eventually assumed full time responsibilities as the Executive Director at CCJ. He retired from CCJ in 2019. Craig served a number of terms on the Board of Directors for the Ames Girls Softball Association. He became a Board member for STory County Legal Aid in 2019.

Jane Street

Jane Street graduated from Iowa State University with a BA in Business. She worked as an accountant for her family’s company, Weeks & Leo Co., in Des Moines for 20 years. Jane was the accounting manager for Burke Corporation in Nevada, Iowa for more than 15 years before her retirement in 2024. Jane now lives in Ames with her partner, Carl, and their little dog, Trixie. Jane has two children, Molly and Sam who live with their families in Ames and Ankeny. Jane’s favorite pastime is spending time with her large extended family vacationing in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Kathy Johnson

Vice President

Kathy Johnson received her social Work degree from University of Iowa and has worked in the Human Service field for 49 years. She worked as a Service Coordinator for CICS -Story County office assisting both adults and children to find the mental health/developmental disability services they need until her retirement in 2023. She joined the Board in 2016 and says she has personally seen what Legal Aid of Story County has done for folks she works with.

Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson has been an attorney and Director of Student Legal Services at Iowa State University since 1990. He received his B.A. in Sociology from the University of Northern Iowa and his law degree from the University of Iowa. He has previously worked for the Iowa Department of Human Services in Black Hawk County and for the Linn County (Iowa) Mental Health and Disability Services. He engaged in private practice prior to coming to Iowa State University. Paul has been on the Board since 2016.

Ruth Appleton

Ruth Appleton is an Assistant Director of Human Resources at the University of Iowa. Prior to accepting her current position in 2024, she served for seventeen years at Iowa State University in a variety of Human Resources roles specializing in Employee and Labor Relations. Ruth joined our board in 2023.

Brendan O'Brien

Brendan O’Brien served as director of the International Students and Scholars Office at Iowa State University from 2019 until 2024. He led a staff responsible for providing immigration and cross-cultural expertise for international students and scholars throughout their Iowa State years. Brendan came to Iowa State from Cornell University, where he served for 29 years in the university’s international students and scholars office. He holds a BA in history from Hobart College, Geneva, New York, and a Master of Public Administration from the State University of New York, Albany. Brendan has been on the Board since 2022.