My name is Nidia Yaneth Mann, and I am proud to be Mrs. Iowa 2011! I am a first generation American whose parents immigrated to the United States from Mexico. I was the first in my family to graduate from college, studying Business Marketing at California State University of San Bernardino.  In college, I studied abroad in Italy, an opportunity which sparked a passion for experiencing new cultures that continues today.  I am an international exchange coordinator with EF Foundation for Foreign Study, America’s leading high school exchange organization and my sponsor in the Mrs. America pageant. As an exchange coordinator, I am responsible for matching international exchange students with caring host families in my hometown of Sioux City, Iowa, and supervising the students and their host families throughout the exchange year. In addition to my full-time job as a property manager, and my work as an exchange coordinator, I have become the American “mom” to two wonderful high school exchange students from Italy and Germany.
 
My husband, Scott, and I love living in Iowa. As active Iowans, we often take advantage of the variety of activities offered in the Hawkeye State – from historic settlements along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, to the culturally rich towns overflowing with Midwestern hospitality, to Iowa’s larger cities thriving with commerce and modern amenities. As someone whose own life has been shaped by the opportunities with which I have been presented, I am profoundly touched to participate in the Mrs. America pageant, “I am truly honored to have been crowned Mrs. Iowa 2011, and cherish the opportunity to represent the great state of Iowa which has always given me and my family so much.”