The Mary Greeley Medical Center board of trustees has appointed Amber Deardorff as the medical center’s next president and CEO, effective Aug. 1 following a search process.

Deardorff, who is currently Mary Greeley’s vice president, chief operating officer and chief nursing officer, will succeed Brian Dieter, who is retiring after 17 years in the role.

“We were fortunate to have such a strong internal candidate for this highly significant position,” Kevin McCuskey, Mary Greeley board chair, said in a news release. “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 joined the Mary Greeley staff in 2003 as a patient care technician. She served as a registered nurse in intensive care before joining the medical center’s clinical applications systems team, which manages the electronic health records system and other applications. In 2017, she became part of the hospital’s administrative team, serving as vice president for clinical and support services before being promoted to her current roles in 2023.

Deardorff led Mary Greeley’s response to the COVID-19 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 bachelor of arts degree in exercise and sport science from Iowa State University, a bachelor of science degree in nursing from Grand View University, and a master of public administration from Drake University. 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.