Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller appointed Jessica Whitney as director of his office’s Consumer Protection Division in June to take the place of Bill Brauch, who retired July 15 after leading the division since 1995. Whitney has been with the office since October 2004, and her specialty has been pursuing businesses and individuals who dupe and defraud consumers.  

Did you enter public service by accident or by design?
By design. From a young age I had always aspired to help people, which led naturally to public service.

Why?
My parents and general upbringing instilled in me a passion for public service. My mom was a teacher, someone who dedicated her life to educating and helping others. I grew up inspired by her and saw firsthand the good she was able to accomplish and how fulfilling her life was. 

Has there been a single consumer protection case so far that has brought you the greatest satisfaction?
The Ashford University case has been one of the most satisfying cases. As noted in our May 16, 2014, press release, our office alleged that Ashford “misrepresented to prospective students who wished to become teachers that an online Ashford education degree would allow them to become classroom teachers when, in fact, many Ashford graduates are subject to additional requirements that may require additional time, coursework, or money.” Ashford agreed to “[a] settlement, called an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance, where the company denies wrongdoing, but must pay $7.25 million to the state.” Approximately $7 million of the settlement payments from Ashford University has gone toward or is in the process of reimbursing former and current Ashford online students from Iowa.

How are you first alerted to possible consumer fraud?
The Consumer Protection Division learns about consumer fraud cases in a variety of ways. Examples include consumer complaints, information from consumer advocates, and through observation and investigation on the part of our office staff.

How do you sort through consumer complaints?
We have a dedicated staff member who reviews complaints to determine if our office can handle the complaint, if it needs to be directed elsewhere, or if we have information we can send to help the consumer.

What is a typical day at the office like?
One of the things I like about this job is that there is no typical day at the office. A given day might include court appearances, drafting legal documents, education and outreach to consumers, or working with investigators and other state and federal agencies on large consumer protection cases.

Did you have a mentor? If so, what was the most important advice or most valuable lesson that person passed along?
Yes, I have been fortunate to have a few mentors during my career. One lesson is the importance of understanding and knowing the people involved in any professional relationship, be it colleagues, employees or individuals in other offices or businesses.

What is the first thing you do when you arrive at the office and the last thing you do when you leave at night?
When working with people who have a variety of roles in the office, I start the day by greeting my colleagues and learning of any new complaints, case updates or other information that needs to be a priority for the day. After that I review and adjust my priority list, and let it dictate my day’s work. The last thing I do is make a list of my priorities for the next day, in order to get a clear and effective start the following morning.

How do you spend your spare time?
In my little spare time, I enjoy reading and hiking with my family.

What was the last book you read?
A book I recently read for my book club is “The Death Class: A True Story About Life,” by Erika Hayasaki, a book about a college class on the topic of death that turned out to be a vibrant illustration on how to live a good life.