Age 31  |  Associate, corporate development, BrownWinick law firm

Bridget Shapansky grew up in Des Moines and decided she needed to go elsewhere.

After earning degrees at College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn., Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane, Wash., and Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, she decided something was missing: home.

“You always think you want to leave and go do something else, and then sure enough, you go out and do it, and after a while you are thinking, ‘What am I doing? I think I belong back where I came from,’” Shapansky said.

She came back in 2005, and in December 2010 started at the BrownWinick law firm after spending time with Kirke Financial Services LLC, the Nyemaster law firm and KPMG LLP.

At BrownWinick, her duties include assisting clients in domestic and international business transactions, advising start-up companies on financing alternatives and counseling nonprofits. Her favorite part of the job is helping people.

“I most enjoy assisting people and bringing their ideas to fruition,” she said. “It’s just a really neat process to get to work with really passionate people about their ideas and everything and have it come together and see it and run with it.”

In the community, Shapansky is the class project liaison for the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute’s current project. For this year’s project, Project Encore, the class is renovating the Amos Hiatt Middle School auditorium. Shapansky has been involved with the institute since 2007, and said her past experiences have helped prepare her to make the current project come together.

Being involved in the institute has opened her eyes to things in Des Moines that she didn’t know anything about, she said.

“I was even born and raised in Des Moines, but there are things you learn in class that I had no idea about,” Shapansky said. “It’s just a really fascinating experience.”

Shapansky has also been involved in the Kiwanis Miracle League, the I Have a Dream Foundation and the Young Women’s Resource Center.