What made you want to work for the Downtown Chamber of Commerce?

This summer, I wanted to try something a little different. I was involved with a lot of activities outside of Tero, and so I wanted to be more involved with the community.

I was on the board of the American Society of Training and Development, ASTD – I was the programming VP for three years, where I arranged different events and programs.

I’m also on the board of the Civic Music Association – which is focused on jazz and classical music. And I’m involved with the Central Iowa Shelter & Services – I started up the PR committee about three years ago. And all of that interaction really immersed me in the community, and I wanted to get to the point where I could give back, and this position offers that.

What are some of the goals you’ve set for yourself and the chamber?

Well, goals are always changing for a chamber. But coming into this, my immediate goal is to get to know who our members are; why are they members; what is sustaining their membership; what would they like to see in the community that would assist them with their business?

The chamber’s motto is “Connections that Count,” so whatever we do needs to resonate with creating connections that count for our members. It’s in the events; it’s in just absolutely everything that we do.

We just started inviting our members to come to our board meetings, so they can teach us about something specific that matters to them – something, maybe, we don’t know as a board.

What are some of thechallenges you’re facing?

It’s a very new chamber, which is one of our challenges as a chamber. Being so new, you really do have to take a look at where we’re going and take a look at adding value to our members.

In essence our job is to create those connections that count but also really be there to be a support system to help them grow, to find commonalities with other members and to look for ways to link them together.

You know, really fostering that sense of community with our members, where they feel like they can come together, share expertise and just really grow together as a business community.

What are some skills you developed at your past jobs that you think will help you with this one?

When I was at Tero, I developed a really great habit of writing thank you notes to follow up after meetings. And that is an activity that I’m bringing into this position as well so that the people I meet know that I respect them and that they matter. And I feel like a thank you note conveys that so beautifully.

And from my newspaper experience, I got an eye for communication that is involved.

I’m looking at what communications are we offering? How do they convey a certain message? In what ways can we enhance that for our members? How can we reach a broader base?

So what are you working on right now to get acquainted with your new job?

I’m personally meeting all of our members right now. I like to hear people’s stories. Everybody is unique, everybody has a story and everybody wants to tell their story.

And when you take a moment to just sit there, put yourself in their shoes and try to experience it the way that they see it, it opens your perspective.

And I think that’s one of the beauties of this position, you can get so many people’s perspective.

The first part of the job of course, is learning to do day-to-day functions so we’re not disrupting what our members are expecting. And so you want to maintain that balance for them, and continue to deliver more as you go along.

Do you have any hobbies?

My hobby is a shared hobby with the whole family: Music is a big part of who we are as a family. Aaron, my husband, sings in the Des Moines chorale society, and I play the piano. One of my life goals is to play the piano at Von Maur.