Jolene Liebl started her career as a third-grade teacher in Aldine, Texas, a suburb of Houston. She returned to Iowa in 2006 to be a third-grade teacher and then an instructional coach for Newton Community Schools. She accepted the job of principal in Oskaloosa in 2014. Liebl earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Iowa State University, and her master’s degrees in education and educational leadership from Viterbo University in Wisconsin and Iowa State University, respectively.