Lori J. Ryerkerk is a native of Mason City, Iowa, and graduated from NIACC in 1981. Lori continued on to Iowa State University where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering in 1983.

Lori enrolled at NIACC as a 17-year-old high school student since she was advanced in math. She enjoyed her pre-engineering classes as part of a cohort of 20 students doing study labs and projects together. She remembers it being a lot fun, but also a good source of support and belonging.

NIACC has been a big part of the whole Ryerkerk family. Her father, the late Donald Ryerkerk, served as Director of Adult and Continuing Education, her mother, and each of her siblings attended NIACC. Lori shared, “NIACC was an important part of our family while growing up.”

Lori serves as the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Celanese Corporation, a Fortune 500 global chemical and specialty materials company based in Dallas Texas. Previously, Lori was the Executive Vice President of Global Manufacturing, the largest business in Shell Downstream Inc., where she led a team of 30,000 employees and contractors at refineries and chemical sites worldwide. Lori’s expertise in the energy industry spans three-plus decades. She combines deep technical and commercial skills with a passion for the manufacturing business. He unwavering focus on safety, environmental, and social performance is the foundation on which she has overseen some of the most technically complex operations in the industry. Lori joined Shell in May 2010 as the Regional Vice President of Manufacturing in Europe and Africa.

In October 2013 she was named Executive Vice President. Before joining Shell, she was Senior Vice President, Refining, Supply and Terminals at Hess Corporation. Prior to that, Lori spent 24 years with ExxonMobil where she started her career as a process technologist at a refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and moving through various positions in the corporation.

Lori currently serves on the board of directors of Eaton Corporation, a leading provider of power management technologies and services. She previously served on the board of Axalta Coating Systems, a leading provider of liquid and powder coatings. Lori actively supports a variety of organizations in her hometown of Beaumont, Texas.

Lori is married to the Honorable Carl Griffith and they reside in Beaumont, Texas. She is the mother of two grown children and has one grandchild.

Beth Bilyeu is a native of Mason City, Iowa and graduated from NIACC in 1989. Beth continued on to complete her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business from Buena Vista University.

Beth is the Executive Director of the Forest City Economic Development a position she has held since 2002. Prior to that, Beth was the Winnebago – Worth County Economic Development Executive Director.

Beth has been recognized for her expertise nationally and statewide. She serves on the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center Advisory Board. Beth is a past member of the NIACC Alumni Association Advisory Board, an association she helped found in 1991. She is a past member of the State Advisory Board for the Small Business Development Centers. In addition, Beth has served on a number of national and state conference panels for workforce housing. She is a former Board member of the National Rural Economic Development Association.

Beth was instrumental in helping facilitate funding through the Iowa Economic Development Association for NIACC to establish the John V. Hanson Career Center in Forest City, which opened in 2021. Projects in Forest City and Winnebago Counties have been successful due to Beth’s tireless leadership include Cobblestone Inn & Suites, CDI, Dollar General, Forest Theatre, Irish Hospital Apartments, Westtown Place Apartments, North Central Iowa Rail Corridor, Forest City Veterinary Clinic’s Nerem Industrial Park relocation, Coloff Digital, and Boman Fine Arts Center.

Beth lives in Clear Lake, Iowa and is the mother of three grown children and five grandchildren.

Front Row (Left to Right): Karissa Hoon (Durant, IA), Olivia Hegge (Adams, MN), Trisha Anderson (Mason City, IA), Iwalani Beltran (Aiea, HI), Emma Borrelli (Mason City, IA), Sydney Burkholder (Forest City, IA), Emma Weiner (Rockwell, IA), Kennedy Schwiesow (St. Ansgar, IA), Natsuko Furukawa (Osaka, Japan)

Second Row (Left to Right): Katy Olive (Minneapolis, MN), Irvin Gomez (Kanawha, IA), Breyden Christiansen (Mason City, IA), Allison Diekema (Mason City, IA), Jonathan Downs (State Center, IA), Elic Fjetland (Clarion, IA), Cameran Moellers (Cresco, IA), Ibrahim Cara (Albania)

Third Row (Left to Right): Brynnlin Kroymann (Delmar, IA), Tessa Kozitza (Mason City, IA), Grace Davis-Chavez (St. Paul, MN), Wyatt Helming (Lake Mills, IA), Lee Hillesheim (St. James, MN), Devin Jones (Charles City, IA), Kason Judisch (Sumner, IA), Timothy Castle (Mason City, IA)

Fourth Row (Left to Right): Keiara Anderson (St. Cloud, MN), Edoardo Alessandrini (Rome, Italy), Jackson Koebernick (Lincoln, NE), Kellar Malek (Mason City, IA), Brock Moore (Forest City, IA), Matthew Moore (Clear Lake, IA), Barrett Muller (Osage, IA), Madelynn Muller (Rockford, IA)

Back Row (Left to Right): Anders Palmquist (Sussex, IA), Emily Payne (Lake Mills, IA), Jace Popp (Osage, IA), Preston Prazak (Rock Falls, IA), Jim Renshaw (Lake Mills, IA), Mitchell Staudt (Greene, IA), Benjamin Tindall (Thompson IA)

Not Pictured: Rhett Bonnette (Denver, IA), William Couchman (Edina, MN), Zach Dohrman (Lakeville, MN), Spencer Hill (Mason City, IA), James Jennings (Toledo, OH), Cole Newell (Maple Grove, IA), Michael Retterath (Charles City, IA), Oliver Yuhas (Victoria, MN)