The Iowa Biotech Association has announced Rachel Hurley as its new executive director.

Hurley was most recently the director of legislative relations in the office of the Michigan attorney general, where she helped develop the Michigan Cyber Safety Initiative, focused on teaching children about Internet safety.

“My goal and that of the Iowa Biotech Association is to grow Iowa’s presence in biotechnology and position the state as a biotech leader in the global economy,” Hurley said in a press release.

Hurley succeeds Doug Getter, who had led the association from its inception in 1994.