Ann Christine “Christie” Bell was born in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, in 1950. In 1972, she received a BA in English from Kirkland College in Clinton, New York. While in college, Bell met Tom Vilsack, a student at nearby Hamilton College. The couple married in 1973, and had two sons, Jess and Doug.

After Tom Vilsack received his JD from Albany University in 1975, the family moved to Mt. Pleasant, where Tom Vilsack practiced law. In 1987, he was elected mayor of Mt. Pleasant, and in 1992, he was elected to the Iowa State Senate. During this period, Christie Vilsack taught middle school and high school language arts and journalism. She later taught English and journalism as an adjunct faculty member at Iowa Wesleyan College. Vilsack received her MA in journalism from the University of Iowa in 1992, and worked as a reporter and columnist for the Mt. Pleasant News for many years.

After her husband was elected governor of the state of Iowa in 1998, Vilsack became a full-time volunteer, making literacy her top priority. Between 2000 and 2006, Christie Vilsack raised funds to give a book to every kindergartener in Iowa and started adult and youth reading clubs. She organized numerous events to promote literacy, and visited over 500 Iowa libraries to discuss the social and economic impact of public libraries on communities. As first lady, Vilsack involved herself in women’s issues, including sponsoring Young Women’s Health Conference in 1999.

In 2007, Vilsack launched the Vilsack Foundation in order to promote literacy, libraries, and storytelling. As president of the Foundation, Vilsack partnered with the Verizon Foundation and The National Center For Family Literacy to create the national Tech Savvy Award, which recognized media and information literacy programs around the country that encourage parents to learn the technologies their children use.

In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Tom Vilsack to serve as Secretary of Agriculture. Christie Vilsack opted to remain executive director of The Iowa Initiative, a program that aims to reduce the high rate of unintended pregnancies among adult women in Iowa.

Vilsack has maintained an independent political identity throughout her life. In 1999, Al Gore sought Vilsack’s support for his 2000 bid for the presidency. In 2004, she attended the Democratic National Convention as a delegate and a speaker. After her husband withdrew his candidacy from the 2008 US presidential election, Vilsack endorsed Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.