Sheila Kramer Tjaden

For much of her career, Sheila Kramer Tjaden has focused on well-being. As the former community development director for Unity Point Health – Jones Regional Medical Center, she spent 18 years addressing people's physical health; as the Community Foundation's director of affiliates, she is working toward building healthy communities — and a strong Dubuque region.

Shelia hones the Foundation's regional approach to community generosity, creating a roadmap to continue strengthening our communities and inspiring giving across our seven-county footprint. Shelia provides oversight of our affiliate boards and staff in Dyersville, Delaware, Jackson, Jones, and Clinton Counties and supports our affiliate communications manager.

“I love being able to do good across the region in many different areas of many different communities,” Sheila says.

Sheila is originally from Delhi, where she graduated from Maquoketa Valley High School – the home of our own Foundation for the Future of Delaware County’s very impactful Dollars for Scholars program. She studied public relations and communications at the University of Northern Iowa, and her first job was with Kendall-Hunt Publishing in Dubuque.

Even before she joined the Foundation, Sheila was a part of our regional work. As a Monticello resident, she was a very engaged participant in the Monticello Community Heart & Soul® initiative, facilitated by the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, and has been named a Heart & Soul Champion. She also represented the Jones Regional Medical Center Foundation, a fund held by the Jones County Community Foundation.  

In her free time, Sheila likes spending time outdoors and with positive people. She loves Neil Diamond and the 2000 biographical sports film Remember the Titans, often listed among the best football movies of all time. She counts crocheting and cooking among her passions and once hosted a “food camp” for her son and his friends while they were in college to teach them how to cook.