Tell us about the rabbit.

Jackson Harering is a our 4 1/2-year-old Holland lop, and he is my baby. We rescued him from a pet store in the Quad Cities. He is our third rabbit. He is a house rabbit. We have built a special place in the house just for him. He runs around the entire lower level when we are at home at night. He is potty trained. Some people have cats, some people have dogs, we have a rabbit.

Are rabbits smart?

They are very trainable, and he is incredibly smart. He knows when he is in trouble. I can say Jackson and he will look at me like a child will when he is in trouble. He knows his name; he will come when I call him like a dog. Like a cat, he is potty trained. There is a major group called House Rabbit Society, and we are members of the House Rabbit Society. There are many online places for house rabbit owners to exchange information. I have a number of Facebook friends who I have never met but have met through other organizations dedicated to house rabbits, and we know each other by our rabbits’ names. … Each of our rabbits has a different personality. … The funny thing about Jackson is that he doesn’t like grass. Put him in the grass and he will run back to the concrete.

How did you become involved with documentaries?

I really fell in love with public radio in college and while working at KUNI, the public radio station at the University of Northern Iowa. I decided that my ideal goal for a radio career would be working for National Public Radio. I got married, and ended up in Muscatine and I was the news director there for four years. … The Stanley Foundation in Muscatine once produced public radio programming and had a weekly radio show called “Common Ground” that ran for almost 25 years. I was hired in 1999 to assist with “Common Ground,” and then the foundation branched out into doing documentary production. It’s a fantastic form of broadcast journalism. I had wonderful adventures working on the documentaries. I have had more experiences than most and accomplished more than I would ever have thought possible in my broadcasting career. Being able to take the skills that I have and being able to translate it into a position like this is really the ultimate good feeling.

How will you apply your skills to the Iowa Architectural Foundation?

The IAF has great room for growth. Because I have a background in broadcasting and in public relations, I think that is an area where I can spend some time focusing attention on to raise awareness of IAF. … Being able to build our brand, build our identity and reach out to audiences in new and different ways is something that I hope to be able to bring to the table. We have started a Facebook page. … I have started a Twitter feed. The key for me is to also be thinking about the audiences, not only in the architectural and design world, but also the audiences that are in the public. The key to reaching audiences is reaching them multiple ways. That is Branding 101 these days. You don’t know how someone is going to find you.

What is the Iowa Architectural Foundation all about?

The foundation really is a public education entity. The goal is to raise awareness of architecture and design and how it affects our daily lives. One of the great things about architecture and design is that everyone can walk away with a different perspective. My impression of 801 Grand from afar is of prairie grass. That’s just my interpretation.

The great thing about architecture and design is that everyone is influenced in a different way. I traveled all over the world for the documentaries. It just depended on the topic we were working on. I have spent time in Asia, I have spent time in Africa, I have spent time in West Europe and Eastern Europe, so I have been blessed to have seen a great amount of world architecture.

What do you do to relax?

I do quilt when I have time, and I’m trying to be much more dedicated to quilting. I read, and I am known to have gone through at least the digital edition of The New York Times before I get out of bed.