Iowa Department for the Blind director Emily Wharton resigns as she battles kidney cancer

The director of the Iowa Department for the Blind is resigning as she battles kidney cancer, she said Tuesday.

Emily Wharton has served as the department's director since 2016. Prior to that, she served as the department's technology director. Wharton, who is blind, also is a former graduate of the department's Iowa Blindness Empowerment and Independence Center.

Her resignation is effective Thursday.

Wharton told the Des Moines Register in an interview Tuesday that she was diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer in January 2023 and that the disease has made it difficult to continue her job leading the department.

"It’s been a really, really tough decision," she said. "I’ve been thinking about it over the past several months knowing the workload and the pressure and whatnot is more than I can do. But still I really love my job and I’m really passionate about it and committed to my work, so it’s been a struggle to kind of come to this decision."

Wharton said she is on an immunotherapy treatment and had a kidney removed in September. But in November she found out the cancer had moved to her brain, requiring her to get radiation to try to eliminate the tumor there.

That treatment came the same day she met with Gov. Kim Reynolds about the department's budget for the upcoming year.

"It just so happened that I was meeting with the governor about our budget in the morning and then right after that got the radiation on my brain tumor," she said.

Reynolds announced the resignation in a news release Tuesday. She did not mention the reason Wharton is stepping down.

"Emily Wharton has dedicated her career to serving the blind," Reynolds said in the news release. "She has long been a passionate advocate, empowering blind Iowans to live independently, work and fully contribute to their communities. She has made a difference in the lives of many Iowans, and I am grateful for her service."

Wharton received a salary of $103,000 last year, according to the state's salary database.

Reynolds said she has appointed Sarah Willeford, the library director at the Department for the Blind, to serve as the interim department director while the state conducts a search to fill the position permanently.

Wharton praised Willeford's work leading the library, calling it "a model for libraries for the blind across the country."

"She leads by example so people just naturally want to follow her," Wharton said. "And she’s just been, I mean, my right-hand person. Just absolutely outstanding in the 10 years I’ve been working with her."

Blind Iowans flocked to the Capitol last year to advocate for Wharton to remain in her role as director as lawmakers debated Reynolds' bill to reorganize state government. The law ultimately changed the director of the Department for the Blind from a position appointed by a three-member commission to a position appointed directly by the governor. Reynolds reappointed Wharton last July and she was unanimously confirmed by the Senate in March.

She said the support she received from Iowans was "hugely gratifying."

"The support that I got from consumers was — I’m trying not to cry — was really amazing," she said. "I was and continue to be overwhelmed by that support."

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.