Amber Deardorff Named Next President and CEO of Mary Greeley Medical Center

AMES, IA – The Mary Greeley Board of Trustees has appointed Amber Deardorff as the medical center’s next President and CEO, effective August 1, 2025. The announcement came following a formal vote at the Board’s Tuesday, April 29 meeting. Deardorff, currently serving as Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Nursing Officer, will succeed Brian Dieter, who is retiring after 17 years in the role.

Deardorff was selected after an extensive vetting process, said Ken McCuskey, Chair of the Mary Greeley Board of Trustees.

“We were fortunate to have such a strong internal candidate for this highly significant position,” said McCuskey. “Amber has been part of Mary Greeley since 2003 and has had a multi-faceted career here. She knows the medical center through and through and we are confident that she has the experience and skills necessary to successfully lead it into the future.”

Deardorff didn’t plan on a career in healthcare until she did a college internship at Mary Greeley’s cardiac rehabilitation unit in 2002.

“This early experience in a healthcare environment was so impactful that it changed the trajectory of my career,” she said. “I truly found my calling at Mary Greeley. I love the healthcare field and this hospital. I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the experiences I’ve had at Mary Greeley, and the opportunity to learn from so many committed and thoughtful people, most particularly our outgoing president, Brian Dieter.”

Deardorff officially joined the Mary Greeley staff in 2003 as a patient care technician. She went on to serve as a registered nurse in intensive care before joining the medical center’s clinical applications systems team, which manages the Epic electronic health records system and other applications. Deardorff was manager of the unit from 2009-2012 and then director from 2012-2017. In 2017, she became part of the hospital’s administrative team, serving as vice president for clinical and support services. In 2023, she was appointed vice president, chief operating officer and chief nursing officer.

“It has been inspiring to watch Amber develop into such an outstanding leader at Mary Greeley. She has absolutely earned this new level of responsibility,” said Dieter. “She understands the needs of the communities we serve and the vital role we play in meeting them. She also understands and values our culture, which is what makes Mary Greeley such a great place to receive care and to work.”

Deardorff led Mary Greeley’s response to the Covid pandemic. She also had a leading role in the development and launch of the Ames Surgery Center, in partnership with McFarland Clinic.

She has a B.A. in Exercise and Sport Science from Iowa State University, a B.S. in Nursing from Grand View College, and a Master of Public Administration from Drake University. She is the recipient of a Great Iowa Nurse award and Mary Greeley’s Innovation and Excellence in Leadership award. She has served on several boards, including Friendship Ark and United Way of Story County, and has been active with the Iowa Hospital Association.

She and her husband, Luke, live in Ames and have three children.