Mia Laustrup is the Program Director for the STARS Scholarship Program, an Iowa West Foundation Initiative supporting local nontraditional students. Mia was a STARS Scholar recipient from 2012-2014 and attributes her success to the support of the program. She is proud to give back to a program that helped her grow both personally and professionally. Mia empowers the scholars by sharing her story and encouraging them to be proud of theirs.

Prior to joining the Council Bluffs Schools Foundation as the STARS Program Director, Mia worked in cosmetology and Esthetics. While working full-time in a salon, Mia earned her bachelor’s degree in education and pursued a career in the nonprofit sector, where she found her true passion. Now, Mia is back in school working toward earning a master’s degree in project management. She is the Vice President of the Impact CB Executive Committee and Chair of the Communications Committee for the Human Services Advisory Council where she’s gained an understanding for community resources which has helped tremendously in her current role.
Mia is a wife and a mom of three boys: Hayden (17), Dominic (5), Denson (3). She and her family enjoy being outside, spending time with their family, and traveling.

Tad and his wife have two daughters currently enrolled in the Lewis Central School District. Originally from Lincoln, NE, he spent a decade serving the United States Navy before relocating back to the region. He has worked for Google in Council Bluffs since 2014. Tad has a Master‘s Degree in Crisis and Emergency Management from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and is currently working on a Master’s in Finance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.