Andrew Allen
Community investment consultant,
Principal Financial Group Inc. Age 29

Andrew Allen went from having the highest grade point average in junior high school to failing several classes his freshman year of high school. Before his 18th birthday, after being on and off juvenile probation since age 12, Allen was convicted of drunk driving and was sent to Youth and Shelter Services Inc. in Ames for treatment.

Three years later, he was named a charter youth member of YSS’s board of directors. “They believed in me long before I believed in myself,” Allen said, “and that’s really what I feel obligated to do today through working with young people and mentoring people.”

Allen graduated from Iowa State University with honors and began working with Principal Financial Group Inc. as an information technology application analyst, while volunteering for YSS and other youth organizations. Then in February 2006, he became a community investment consultant in the company’s community outreach division.

Allen’s current position with Principal entails developing and managing charitable contribution programs, reviewing grant proposals and making recommendations to Principal’s contributions committee, and serving as a resource for community outreach programs and special events. It also allows him to be heavily involved in his numerous volunteer activities.

“The job affords me the opportunity to get involved not only with things I’m personally passionate about but really all aspects of the community,” he said.

Allen is board chair of the Iowa Homeless Youth Centers, a board member of YSS and is a mentor for GRIP Mentoring, a program of the Story County Mentoring Task Force. He also was the campaign chair of Principal’s United Way campaign from 2004 to 2005.

Through his volunteer work, he has received several awards, including the Spirit of Youth Award from the state of Iowa, Volunteer Service and Leadership Award from YSS, Spirit of America Award from Principal Financial Group and Volunteer of the Quarter from United Way of Central Iowa.

Allen would like to see other Des Moines residents follow his lead and support young adults, especially ages 15 to 25. “The more that we continue to engage the young community in meaningful opportunities,” he said, “the stronger the Des Moines community is going to be.”

Most of Allen’s free time is spent with his wife, Hollie, and their three-year-old son and 10-month-old twins. He also likes playing sports, including softball, volleyball and basketball.

Chad Alley
Business development,
Neumann Bros. Inc.
Age 34

After graduating from Simpson College and teaching physical education for four years, Chad Alley realized that career would not satisfy the goals he had set forth in his five-year plan. So, he quit teaching “cold turkey” and went to a career counselor, who determined he was better suited for sales and business development. Looking back, Alley said, “it’s one of the best things I’ve done.”

Alley has worked in sales and business development for several companies, most recently in the construction industry. He has excelled in his new career path, achieving the highest growth profit margin in the Midwest while working for Office Depot and generating an estimated more than $20 million in potential business opportunities while at Downing Construction Inc.

Since last year, he has been working in business development for Neumann Bros. Inc., which he said entails a lot of research and forming close relationships with potential clients.

His departure from teaching left Alley with a need to continue to help others through volunteer work. He is on the board of directors of the South Des Moines Chamber of Commerce. Alley said he believes that group is an up-and-coming chamber in Des Moines and is composed of young and ambitious leaders.

Alley also is actively involved with Central Iowa Shelter & Services, where he serves on the board. He is the construction consultant to the building committee, which is striving to build a $6.2 million homeless shelter in Des Moines. Alley’s leadership also extends to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Brinks Social Club and the Warren County Leadership Institute, among many other organizations.

“Chad is a busy professional who always makes you feel like he has unlimited time to give,” said Jean Brown, executive director of Central Iowa Shelter & Services. “What a wonderful talent for a young leader to possess.”

Although Alley desires to be a leader in the community, he doesn’t see himself as one compared to his mentors, most of whom he became close to while participating in the Leadership Iowa program through the Iowa Association of Business and Industry last year. The program introduced participants to significant issues facing Iowa in areas such as education, economic development and agriculture. Through this program, Alley also became a team leader for Rebuilding Together Greater Des Moines.

Marc Beltrame
Deputy district director for Congressman Leonard Boswell
Age 32

In any given week, Marc Beltrame might be at a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C., at the opening of a new business in Grundy Center, or at an economic development conference on Des Moines’ East Side. Or an emerging issue may require him to hop on a jet at a moment’s notice.

“One of the exciting things about this job is that there’s not a lot of predictability to my schedule,” said Beltrame, who has worked for Rep. Leonard Boswell for the past two years. “Typically, I am the congressman’s key contact with the business community here on the ground in Iowa, which is a real exciting position to be in.”

On March 15, Beltrame’s responsibilities will shift to running a statewide presidential campaign, as he begins working for U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd as his Iowa campaign director.

“I was always in the back of my mind intrigued by the possibility of working on a presidential campaign,” said Beltrame, who said he was approached by several campaigns. “I chose Sen. Dodd because I thought he was the most credible and offered the best opportunity.”

Prior to entering public service, Beltrame spent four and a half years as a trial lawyer with Whitfield & Eddy in Des Moines. “That was a tremendous background,” he said, noting that he handled numerous matters involving public policy while at the firm.

Though long work hours have put his hobbies of hunting and fishing on hold, Beltrame still finds time to attend Iowa Hawkeye sporting events and enjoys spending time on the family farm. He has also traveled extensively throughout Europe and the Middle East.

Beltrame, who did some acting while in college, has appeared in two feature-length films that were produced in Iowa: Boone Style and Haunting Villisca.

“In Boone Style, I played a wholesome father who was sort of drifting through life unhappy,” he said. “In Villisca, I played a shadowy character who was affiliated with a suspect of one of Iowa’s most ghastly unsolved murders. It was quite fun; it gave me an opportunity to pursue I guess every kid’s dream – appearing on the big screen.”

Ashley Canney
Director of affiliates,
Greater Des Moines Community Foundation
Age 26

When Ashley Canney returned to Des Moines after having lived and worked in New York City, she thought about going back to big-city life after spending some time with her family.

“Fortunately for us, she decided to stay here and continue to serve the Community Foundation and the Greater Des Moines community,” wrote Johnny Danos, president of the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation, who was among several people to nominate Canney for the Forty Under 40 award.

As the foundation’s director of affiliates, Canney works with 30 community groups through the Iowa Community Affiliate Network that have created local endowments to provide funds to sustain community projects.

“This program started just two years ago, and in a short time we’ve seen such tremendous growth that’s come from it,” said Canney, who said each affiliate operates like a “mini foundation” to provide grants to local organizations. Through Iowa C.A.N., more than 1,500 volunteers across the state have been trained in the grant-making process.

Canney has taken her passion for philanthropy beyond her official duties. She is a founding member of the 20/30 Society. Last year the organization, whose members are all in their 20s and 30s, raised more than $20,000 through a number of creative fundraising events and donated the proceeds to about 10 local charities.

Buy-in from its members is a key to 20/30’s success, said Canney, the organization’s grantmaking co-chair. “Members can submit proposals for grants, and we obviously discuss projects for their merit. Everyone has a say in how the money is donated.”

A graduate of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute, Canney also serves on the board of directors of the House of Mercy. In addition, she creates handmade scarves and handbags that the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Iowa have auctioned during their annual Old Bags Luncheon fund-raiser.

“I think Des Moines has already given back so much to me in that I can make a difference,” Canney said. “I think that’s something that’s hard to do in larger cities. In Des Moines, you can become involved. I think that’s exciting, and I just want to continue with the momentum.”

Scott Carlson
Managing partner,
Court Avenue Restaurant & Brewing Co.
Age 36

Having moved with his family nine times before graduating from high school, Scott Carlson became quite familiar with the restaurant industry as they stayed in hotels and ate out for months at a time while house-hunting.

“I just realized (the restaurant industry) was a fun place to be,” said Carlson, whose father’s career in corporate finance took him not only to cities across the country but to England and Tunisia as well. “And because we always moved, I was always trying to embrace the culture and learning to meet folks.”

Carlson, who started Court Avenue Restaurant & Brewing Co. in 1996 and has served as its managing partner since 2001, also plays a continuing leadership role in downtown Des Moines’ revitalization.

“I definitely enjoy what I’m doing, and in many ways that is success,” said Carlson, a 1993 Drake University graduate.

Carlson strives to motivate his staff to promote not just the restaurant but also downtown Des Moines as a destination, according to his nomination.

“Scott motivates the staff to know the happenings of downtown and relay that excitement to guests,” it said. “Anyone coming into Scott’s restaurant can feel confident that their questions about the area will receive thorough and well-educated responses.”

Last year, Carlson chaired the Downtown Council, a grassroots organization representing approximately 100 businesses, and serves on the executive board of the Downtown Community Alliance. He is also vice chairman of the Iowa Restaurant Association and serves on the board of the National Restaurant Association.

Carlson has been regularly invited to share his expertise in the restaurant industry as a guest lecturer at Iowa State University, Des Moines Area Community College and AIB College of Business as well as his alma mater, Drake.

As Greater Des Moines continues to grow, it will be increasingly important to keep the “bigger picture” in mind, Carlson said. The efforts of both small business owners such as himself and the large corporate players such as the big insurance companies will all come together to make the city better, he said.

“I think Des Moines is becoming more open-minded, and I think that’s good for the city,” he said. “It’s always been a little bit reserved.”

Wade Den Hartog
Development director,
Iowa Association of Business and Industry Foundation
Age 32

“Why would you move back to Iowa from Colorado?”

It’s a question that Wade Den Hartog still fields often, even though it’s been more than three years since his move from Colorado Springs to Des Moines. It’s one that he has a ready answer for, particularly when he’s speaking to high school or college students about the opportunities available to them within the state.

As development director of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry Foundation, Den Hartog is responsible for planning, organizing and managing the annual fund-raising efforts for the foundation’s two primary programs, Business Horizons and Leadership Iowa. He also travels across the state to speak to students “to show them opportunities and businesses in Iowa they wouldn’t necessarily learn about in the classroom,” he said.

The Sheldon native left Iowa shortly after graduating from Drake University to become media relations director for the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, a position that enabled him to travel throughout the country with former players and work with the front-office staff of Major League Baseball.

“I already had one of my dream jobs,” he said. “But now I’ve kind of got my second dream job: to show young people the positive side of Iowa and to be able to work with them through the two programs.”

When he was contacted by the Greater Des Moines Sports Authority Inc. about serving as marketing director for the 2004 AAU Junior Olympic Games, Den Hartog took the opportunity to return to his home state. He served as sales manager for the Iowa Events Center for a year before taking his current position with the ABI Foundation in January 2006.

Den Hartog is also active with the Young Professionals of Iowa and the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s Young Professionals Connection.

Leaving the state temporarily was “very valuable” for him, “especially to be able to travel throughout the country,” said Den Hartog, who was recently named president of the Central Iowa chapter of the Drake Alumni Association and also mentors some students from Drake and Iowa State University.

“I’m working with them to see that there is a future for them here and ways that they can get involved.”

Kendall Dillon
Director of marketing and communications,
Des Moines University
Age 36

Not long after Kendall Dillon was recruited by the Drake Neighborhood Association to serve on its board, she was planning and directing the marketing efforts for a fund-raising house tour. In typical fashion, she even volunteered her own home as part of the tour.

When she later moved to the Waterbury neighborhood, that neighborhood’s association quickly asked her to head up their home tour marketing efforts as well. She was also elected president of the Children’s Garden Parent Board, where her 2 1/2-year-old son attends day care. After accessing the services of the Animal Rescue League of Iowa Inc. to put her 16-year-old dog to sleep, Dillon began contributing her design and marketing skills to that organization.

“The constant professional with talents beyond compare, Kendall is quickly tapped to volunteer as soon as she is discovered to be in the midst,” wrote Heather Starr, development and communications director of the Animal Rescue League, in nominating Dillon for Forty Under 40 recognition.

The director of marketing and communications for Des Moines University for the past three years, Dillon is responsible for all marketing and promotional activities for the university and its clinic. She previously served in a similar capacity for Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa, where she worked for four years.

She is an active alumna of Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, where she earned a degree with a double major in marketing and graphic design, as well as of Drake University, where she earned her master’s degree in business administration in 2000.

“I will admit that I had a limited knowledge of (Des Moines University) before working here; I didn’t know about all the things it did,” she said.

Dillon said Greater Des Moines has made great strides in the past several years, but it could still work toward overcoming a conservative nature.

“I’d like to see more innovation in how parts of the community are developed,” she said. “We’ve done a great job with the East Village; I want to see more growth in Des Moines proper. Having a strong city center is important, so I would like to see that continue. And I would like to see Des Moines become more pedestrian-friendly.”

Sally Dix
Vice president of communications,
Science Center of Iowa & Blank IMAX Dome Theater
Age 32

What Sally Dix thought was her dream job turned out to really stink.

With her sights set on becoming a whale trainer since she was 8, she landed an internship at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago after graduating from Northwestern University. One of her first assignments was to help the trainer sort through a ton of dead fish to find the types the whales would eat.

“I thought, ‘Oh, my God, this is as good as it gets with this guy’s career,'” she said.

Fortunately, the other skills she had developed in pursuit of that career – among them the ability to communicate clearly and math and science skills – ensured her success at the Science Center of Iowa, where she is now vice president of communications.

“I actually started as a volunteer at the Science Center in 2000 because I thought it would be a fun thing to get back to the fun of science,” said Dix, who moved to Des Moines eight years ago with her husband, Patrick, when he was hired as a newscaster at WHO-TV. Had she not gotten engaged and moved to Iowa, she would probably have become an environmental lobbyist in Washington, D.C., she said.

“My current job is my fourth position (at the Science Center), and it’s funny, because I’m doing exactly what I wanted to do (as a lobbyist) but I’m doing it another way.”

Dix, who manages all marketing and public relations efforts of the Science Center, was a member of the senior management team that planned and launched the new $62 million downtown museum, which attracted more than 750,000 visitors in its first 18 months.

“Sally is a person with a strong and unwavering commitment to every aspect of her role,” wrote Mary Sellers, the Science Center’s president and CEO. “She is a person who leads by example, and she has earned the respect and admiration of both the staff and the board of directors of the Science Center, as well as community leaders.”

Outside work, Dix has been active with the Junior League of Des Moines since 2000, and recently began volunteering for Everybody Wins Iowa.

Rachel Flint
Public relations manager,
Hubbell Realty Co.
Age 30

Hubbell Realty Co. took part in a one-week housebuilding project last summer as part of ABC-TV’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” and for Rachel Flint that meant finding 200 sponsors in 21 days, coordinating 10 or more interviews every day, writing daily and hourly media updates and more. Fortunately, most weeks aren’t quite that intense, but she does stay busy.

Flint is responsible for a pair of biannual magazines published by the company and promotes a quickly growing number of Hubbell housing projects, among other duties. She also participates in the Court Avenue Association, the Downtown Community Alliance, Growing Green Communities, Nurturing a Student’s Vision at the Des Moines Arts Festival and the Urban Conservation Advisory Committee.

In what’s left of her time, she is working on a master’s degree in communications leadership at Drake University and is close to receiving a Certified Marketing Professional designation from the National Association of Home Builders.

Plus, she needs to plan her wedding to David Elliott, although they haven’t set the date yet.

Flint went to the University of Northern Iowa with the intention of becoming a lawyer. “I was going to be in the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and save the world,” she said. The first change of plans came when she took an art history class from Dr. Charles Adelman. “He was like Indiana Jones,” she said. “He went on Harvard University expeditions.”

That led to part-time work at the UNI Gallery of Art, which turned into a full-time job as the acting director two days before graduation. Flint followed the art path to Ames, where she spent three years as information and collections manager for Iowa State University’s museums.

But the business angle always interested her, and when a bicycling companion mentioned that Hubbell was looking for a public relations person, Flint applied and got the job in 2004.

Flint plays volleyball and softball, and has ridden her bicycle more than 4,000 miles in the past four years. “I love my highway miles,” she said. ” I love being out alone. When it’s just you and the highway, everything clears up.”

Malcolm Goodwin
President and chief executive officer,
MTG Holdings Inc.
Age 36

Many people are likely to remember Malcolm Goodwin as captain of the 1992 Iowa State University football team that beat the University of Nebraska. Others may recall that he played a couple of years in the National Football League with the Los Angeles Rams, or even his short stint with the Canadian Football League’s Baltimore Stallions.

But the former linebacker, whose pro football career was cut short by a ruptured disc in his neck, says his biggest passion now is to promote more mentoring of youth in Greater Des Moines.

“I am the result of one person taking the time out of his schedule and caring about me,” said Goodwin, who as an 8-year-old was paired with a mentor through Youth and Shelter Services Inc. in Ames. Now, as the first African-American president of the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Iowa, he’s leading an effort to nearly double the number of matches made by the organization within the next four years – the goal is 2,011 by 2011.

“We can create the next generation of leaders in Des Moines, and we get the opportunity to start when they’re young,” said Goodwin, who as a volunteer has mentored a Little Brother, Michael, for the past three years.

Goodwin’s leadership with Big Brothers Big Sisters has been invaluable, said Althea Holcomb, the organization’s CEO.

“Last year, Malcolm stepped in to provide the technical assistance we needed for our major fundraising event when the employee who was responsible for the event resigned one month prior to its execution,” she wrote. He also has been working to diversify both the composition of the board and of volunteers, Holcomb said.

Goodwin recently left Net Integrated Consulting, where he was vice president of new business development, to launch his own consulting company, MTG Holdings Inc. MTG specializes in working with minority- and women-owned businesses to assist them in gaining more business with larger companies.

As Iowa companies, particularly information technology businesses, seek additional workers, “people are going to start looking outside the box to attract more people from different backgrounds from outside our community,” he said.

Brando Guerrero
Community outreach specialist,
Nationwide Insurance
Age 24

A typical day for Brando Guerrero might include meeting with a restaurant owner to scope out a new site for the Young Professionals Connection’s “Dinners Around the World” program and then rushing off to an Alianza meeting downtown, with maybe a stop at the office in between. Some days he starts with a business meeting at 7:30 a.m. and ends late in the evening with a networking event.

As a community outreach specialist at Nationwide Insurance, the company encourages him to be this involved in the community.

“I help the company reach out to diverse communities and offer the products and services that we are the authority on,” Guerrero said. “But at the same time, we do it in a way that reinvests in the community.” A recent event he helped organize was “Ay Chispas!” (meaning “Oh Sparks!” in Spanish), which provided the Latino community with fire safety information as well as fire extinguishers and smoke detectors.

This position has afforded him the ability to be a leader in several organizations as well; he’s the co-founder and president of the Des Moines Art Center’s Art Noir program, president of Alianza Latino Business Association and ambassador for the Greater Des Moines Partnership.

Guerrero’s career path is different than what he might have predicted when he graduated from the University of Iowa. Instead of moving to Madrid, Spain, as planned, he was persuaded by a friend to help open a J.D. Technology Systems’ office in Des Moines. The experience, he said, taught him how to run an office and market a company, among other skills.

Guerrero’s professional aspirations extend far beyond his current position. He points out that there are no Latino CEOs in Fortune 500 companies, and he wants to change that by reaching the C-level at Nationwide. He was accepted into the company’s Emerging Leaders Program this year.

In addition to being motivated to take on new initiatives, Guerrero is inspired by his family, which moved from Acapulco, Mexico, to the United States when he was 6 years old. “My mom pretty much gave up all that she knew, everything that was familiar to her, to move to the United States,” he said, “so that I could get an education, a chance for a better life.”

Nate Hoogeveen
River programs coordinator,
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Age 33

Nate Hoogeveen started out as a reporter, graduating from the University of Missouri School of Journalism. But while writing a weekly column for Cityview called “Wild Iowa,” he transformed into an advocate for natural resources.

About the same time, Trails Books asked Hoogeveen if he would write a guidebook called “Paddling Iowa.” As he worked on the project over a couple of years, he became more aware of how underutilized Iowa’s waterways are and became passionate about changing the situation. So in 2003, he founded the Iowa Whitewater Coalition, with the mission to improve Iowa’s whitewater courses and water trails by reconnecting Iowa’s rivers.

Not only did Hoogeveen find his passion, but he also realized that he could make a living doing it.

He wrote outdoor and travel stories as a freelancer for publications such as Midwest Living, Outside and The Iowan magazines, and in January 2005, he started a media consulting company, Otter Run Media, which often worked with environmental and government organizations and businesses to promote outdoor activities and resources.

Less than a year later, he accepted his current position with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources as river programs coordinator. He primarily helps communities and organizations revive and reconnect Iowa’s river systems; his program has funded more than 630 miles of water trails so far. He also is working on revamping the Protected Water Areas program, which involves working with landowners along scenic parts of Iowa’s rivers to protect those areas, and is heading the moving water safety and adopt-a-stream programs.

“I guess I found that I’ve been able to effect a lot of change both from inside and outside,” Hoogeveen said. “It all comes from working with communities and various interests that want to improve Iowa.”

The Le Mars native’s love for paddling stems from writing an article for Hooked on the Outdoors magazine on learning how to whitewater kayak. Had he worked on a similar story about learning how to rock climb first, he might have taken a different route.

Hoogeveen also is a board member of the Iowa Rivers Revival and has served on the board of Central Iowa Paddlers.

He is married to Vicki and has a 9-month-old son named Thor.

“I’m not going to overdo it with him,” Hoogeveen said, referring to his son, “but he will get some time in a canoe this summer.”

Amy Jennings
Corporate health improvement coordinator,
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Age 30

When Amy Jennings joined the board of the Young Professionals Connection three years ago, the group had fewer than 100 dues-paying members. Now, heading into her third year as the YPC’s president, the organization has about 650 members and an e-mail list that has grown from 450 people to more than 2,000.

“Amy has led the organization to a new level of professionalism, participation, community awareness and community engagement,” wrote Mary Bontrager, executive vice president of the Greater Des Moines Partnership. “I believe Amy is one of those ‘shining stars’ who is and will continue to be a leader in our community.”

Jennings’ numerous volunteer activities and service on boards extend back to her days as an Iowa State University student. She currently serves on the Partnership’s Community Development Board and has volunteered for more than a dozen community events over the past few years.

“I would say I definitely have a passion for helping young professionals get involved in the community,” she said. “I think Des Moines is at a place where they are really able to influence what’s happening in Des Moines.”

As the corporate health improvement coordinator at Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Jennings coordinates internal marketing of employee health programs and oversees a major incentive program that ties health improvement to the company’s flexible benefits program.

She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in communication leadership at Drake University, a new program that began in the fall of 2006.

Jennings said the Young Professionals Connection has introduced her to volunteer opportunities she wouldn’t otherwise have known existed in Greater Des Moines, and that it has proved to be a catalyst for others to become more involved as well. In just the past year, the YPC has placed more than a dozen of its members on charitable boards throughout the community.

“One of the things I appreciate about our organization,” she said, “is that no matter what their interests, they’re likely to find something in YPC to get involved with.”

Tanya Keith
Owner,
Simply for Giggles
Age 35

Tanya Keith grew up less than 20 miles from New York City’s World Trade Center, so the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, were more personal to her than to the people around her in Des Moines that day.

The experience led her to a couple of reactions. “In a way, it was reassuring,” to see life go on as usual here, she said. But Keith also decided “that day was the end of going through the motions of a career, and therefore the end of my life in the corporate world,” she writes in the history of her company.

She left her job with an office supply company and became an events coordinator with The Stadium Foundation, working to bring soccer matches to Central Iowa and promoting the idea of a soccer-specific stadium. “It seemed like a good way to figure out what I was meant to do,” she said. “I wanted to take a step back and give something back to the Des Moines community.”

Then in 2003 Keith started her own business, Simply For Giggles, dedicated to interior design for children. “It’s a retail store, but we’re also really involved in educational events,” she said. “It’s a way to get people engaged as parents in the larger community.”

Keith met her Iowa-born husband, Doug Jotzke, when they were students at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and moved here to attend Iowa State University, where she received a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. They have been married for 11 years, have a daughter and are expecting a second child this summer.

Among her activities outside work, Keith is a referee with the U.S. Soccer Federation, has run marathons, serves on the board of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Central Iowa chapter, is an outreach fellow at Temple B’nai Jeshurun and helped found the Iowa chapter of the International Cesarean Awareness Network.

“If you talk to people who are from here, they say ‘it must have been so exciting living outside New York City, how can you stand it here?'” Keith said. “To me, Iowa is the best place on earth.”

Erin Kiernan
Anchor, reporter and special projects producer,
WHO-TV
Age 33

When the Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium salary scandal story was breaking, Erin Kiernan was going crazy.

“It was really hard to sit on the sidelines,” she said. “And there were several times like that.”

But due to a non-compete clause in Kiernan’s contract with her old employer, WHO-TV’s main rival, KCCI, Kiernan was barred from appearing on air for the station for a year.

“It gave me a chance to do some real fascinating reports, just behind the scenes,” she said. “And occasionally, I would do the reporting and someone else would do the voice-over on air. I missed being out in the field doing the work, but to be honest, I really didn’t miss having to do my hair and makeup every day.”

Kiernan walked away from KCCI even though it has long been the No. 1 local station, and she was being groomed to be its nightly anchor.

“There were a number of factors that led to me leaving,” she said. “But the biggest motivator was that being happy at work is more important to me than being No. 1.”

Another factor in her decision was the product, which she said is of much higher quality at WHO.

“A lot of times, we don’t give viewers enough ‘smart news,'” she said. “At WHO, we really strive for a higher quality in our newscasts. That really made me interested in coming here.”

Despite her successes, including numerous awards for investigative journalism, Kiernan said she has no trouble keeping it all in perspective.

“Most of my friends, I’ve had for years,” she said. “And they’re outside that bubble. It helps keep me grounded.”

And if you get to the YMCA early enough, WHO’s newest anchor may be leading your kickboxing lesson. But she may look a little different.

“I’ve just rolled out of bed when I’m teaching that class,” she said. “And a lot of times, I get people coming up saying, ‘I know you from somewhere.’ For me, it’s a great stress relief that I’ve done since I was a student at Drake [University].”

Rebecca Lowry
Premier events,
American Cancer Society
Age 38

If Rebecca Lowry makes a decision to do something, expect her to dive in without fear.

When the Nashville native decided to pursue a career in advertising, she left her home state of Tennessee to move to New York City, a city known as an advertising mecca. For seven years, she lived the fast-paced lifestyle of an advertising account executive in the Big Apple, managing accounts for companies such as Procter & Gamble Co. and Unilever.

Despite the demands of her job, Lowry found time to support charities in New York, and was a founding member of the New York Benevolent Society.

“Philanthropic work has always been a component of who I am,” she said. “It was something that my family helped instill in me at an early age.”

At one fund-raising event in New York, Lowry met the man who would later become her husband, William. It was his job that brought the couple to Des Moines seven years ago. After relocating here, Lowry continued her work in advertising at The Integer Group before branching out to start her own company, PrimeSite Advertising.

In January 2005, Lowry left the for-profit sector to join the American Cancer Society to help the organization start a fund-raising gala. The inaugural event raised $120,000 for the ACS. Now she is working on starting another new fund-raiser for the local chapter, Hoops for Hope. She expects the May 5 event to be a phenomenal success.

Outside work, Lowry supports the arts by volunteering for the Des Moines Art Center and serving as a board member of the Des Moines Playhouse. She is also a member of OPERAtors, a group the Des Moines Metro Opera has for its supporters who are 45 and under, and belongs to the Slow Food Des Moines Convivium. Work, volunteering and chasing after her 2-year-old son, David, keep her busy, but she feels good about what she is doing.

“It’s good to be thoughtful about how we spend our time, but I also think there’s a point where you can overthink it,” Lowry said. I try to follow my gut and surround myself with people who inspire me.”

Leslie Malcom
Local sales manager,
OnMedia Cable TV and Advertising
Age 39

Working in sales has taught Leslie Malcom how to handle all kinds of issues that come up in the everyday world. She compares the life of a salesperson to an endless roller-coaster ride.

“When you hit a slowdown, you have to keep chugging full speed ahead because you know that the next peak is just around the corner,” Malcom said. “It’s the same in life, too.”

By the time Malcom was in high school in her hometown of Colfax, she had already ruled out many types of careers. Her love for meeting new people led her to study communications at Grand View College.

“I was very energetic and outgoing, and I knew that I could not take an 8-to-5 desk job,” she said.

Last September, Malcom was promoted to sales manager at OnMedia, the advertising side of Mediacom Communications Corp. Her workdays typically start around 5:30 a.m. and finish around 6 p.m. Then she tacks on a trip to the gym for a workout before heading home to her husband, Bill, and their three dogs.

Malcom stays busy, but she also takes time to unwind. Her favorite pastime is scuba diving, and she takes diving trips with her husband a few times each year. In about 10 years, she hopes to retire and turn her passion into a full-time job running a scuba diving shop in a tropical locale.

Outside work, Malcom volunteers for the Altoona Christian Church, serves on the advisory council for Grand View College’s communications department, and leads marketing efforts for the Ingersoll Area Association. Last summer, she helped organize a new event for the district, the Ingersoll Live Festival. It drew a crowd of about 4,000, and is expected to become an annual celebration.

Malcom feels strongly about helping to strengthen the Ingersoll neighborhood where she works, along with the broader community.

“The community supports my paycheck,” she said. “It’s local businesses I’m selling advertising to, and being a part of groups like the Ingersoll Association allows me to use my skills to give back to them.”

Tim McCulloh
Account executive,
Holmes Murphy & Associates
Age 26

A career in the insurance business wasn’t high on Tim McCulloh’s list of priorities when he graduated from Iowa State University.

“I didn’t know anything about insurance,” he said. “And I didn’t know what I wanted to do.”

But after a phone call from Holmes Murphy & Associates Chairman and CEO Doug Reichardt, everything changed.

“He asked me what my plans were, and I said I didn’t know,” McCulloh said. “So he offered me a spot in the company’s new internship program.”

Since then, he has never looked back.

Now, nearly five years later, McCulloh helps shape the internship program that brought him into the company and focused his career aspirations.

“This is such a great program,” he said. “One of the best I’ve ever seen.”

McCulloh now recruits and interviews potential college interns for the program.

“It’s something I’m really excited about,” he said.

McCulloh was born and raised in West Des Moines. Now that he has returned to his hometown, he wants to make sure he gives back anytime he can. That’s why he sits on the West Des Moines Water Works Board of Trustees, Capital Improvement Committee and School Foundation Board.

“My parents led by example,” he said. “They were really involved with the community when I was growing up, and so I feel like I need to do what I can to give back.”

Though McCulloh never really knew what went on behind the scenes in the city he calls home, he said he’s “always been interested in learning about the guts of organizations,” figuring out exactly how they work.

“So I feel like this is a perfect fit for me,” he said.

In addition to his career and civic responsibilities, McCulloh also volunteers his time to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Iowa.

“I don’t really want to grow up,” he said. “This is a group that does so much for kids who need it, and all I have to do is have fun with them. You may say I’m doing a public service, but I’m just having fun playing video games with my little brother.”

Christopher McDonald
Attorney,
Belin Lamson McCormick Zumbach Flynn
Age 32

Christopher McDonald is selective when it comes to community involvement.

“I’ve made a very conscious effort not to be a resume-builder who joins everything,” he said. “I try to pick a few things I’m passionate about and participate in a meaningful way.”

McDonald’s ability to set priorities and stick to them may be a product of his upbringing. He was raised in a military family and lived overseas for much of his childhood, until his family moved to Des Moines in 1985. His keen sense of focus carries through into all areas of his life and helps him find a balance between work, family and community involvement.

“I suppose it’s time budgeting as opposed to financial budgeting,” McDonald said.

After graduating from Lincoln High School, McDonald earned degrees from Grand View College and the University of Iowa College of Law. He worked for two years as a federal law clerk in Cedar Rapids before returning to his adopted hometown in 2003.

When McDonald moved back to Des Moines, he joined the Iowa Asian Alliance and served on the organization’s board of directors for 3 1/2 years. He participates in the group as a way to connect with his Vietnamese heritage and assist other Asian-Americans in Central Iowa. He is currently leading the creative design committee for this year’s Asian Heritage Festival in May.

In a letter nominating McDonald to this year’s 40 Under 40 class, Kim Poam Logan, executive director of the IAA, wrote that McDonald’s legal expertise has been an invaluable asset to the organization, especially during its merger with another non-profit organization, the Asian American Council.

McDonald’s other community involvement includes serving on the national alumni council for Grand View College and supporting United Way of Central Iowa through its Emerging Leaders Initiative. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, particularly books about the American Revolution, biographies of our country’s founders and leaders of the law profession, or any works by Ernest Hemingway. He also attends Iowa Hawkeye football games and spends time with his wife, Carrie, and their three children: Dmitri, Sydney and Aidan.

Ed McGill
Financial representative,
Northwestern Mutual Financial Network
Age 39

Ed McGill is passionate about coaching, whether it’s coaching his clients through a financial decision, helping his children’s sports teams win a game or supporting adolescents through his church.

He also believes in being a leader by having a positive impact on the people he meets, rather than working on large-scale change in Des Moines.

These philosophies are part of what led McGill to be a financial representative for Northwestern Mutual Financial Network after an internship during his senior year at Drake University.

McGill said the company feeds his “entrepreneur spirit” by allowing him to be an independent financial adviser backed by a company with a national reputation. “I like helping people, I like solving problems and I like providing peace of mind and security to my clients,” he said.

Today he is one of Northwestern Mutual’s top 100 agents out of about 7,500 agents in the company’s network. He works with two other agents in his Des Moines office under the new name, McGill, Hellyer & Associates.

As a volunteer, he has helped develop and run Christian basketball camps and teaches a “Kids for Christ” Saturday class for fifth-grade boys as a member of the Lutheran Church of Hope. He also has coached several of his three sons’ football, basketball and baseball teams, often volunteering for two teams a season.

“I played athletics all through high school and at Drake and have just seen different people throughout my years have an impact on my life,” McGill said. “I was able to look at what I think works to incorporate how I would have wanted to be coached.”

McGill also is looking to become more involved with Special Olympics of Iowa in honor of his friend Tom Dunphy, former head of Two Rivers Marketing, who passed away in a plane crash last year. He is on the planning committee for the organization’s 2007 Gold Medal Gala on Oct. 6. He also is becoming more involved with the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America to support his wife, Dawn, and son, who have Crohn’s disease.

“I believe,” said one of his nominators, Michael Housholder, “he is an outstanding example of a young man who lives and serves with success, integrity and passion.”

Matthew Meline
Financial consultant,
Wells Fargo Investments
Age 39

When you’re passionate about something, says Matthew Meline, it’s easy to get involved. As a financial consultant whose office is on Ingersoll Avenue, it has been a natural choice for him to become involved in that area’s revitalization.

As president of the Ingersoll Area Association from 2002 to 2006, Meline helped form an advisory council, build the organization and raise money. He is now a board member of Restoration Ingersoll, a $2.1 million revitalization project, and has encouraged his company, Wells Fargo Investments, to be a big supporter.

“His self-motivation, energy, his creative ideas, business sense and positive outlook are constant assets to his overall success and are contagious with those with whom he works,” said Soozie McBroom, co-chair of Restoration Ingersoll, in a nomination letter.

Meline worked in banking for several years at companies including Norwest Bank Iowa and First Federal Savings Bank before deciding to become a financial consultant in 2001. “I wanted more freedom and to work with clients directly. … It was the best career decision I ever made,” he said.

Through his position at Wells Fargo Investments he has supervised $30 million in asset growth personally and an additional $50 million in partnership with a banker. He won the Rising Star Award in 2002 and 2005 for the highest production increase year over year, and in 2006, he achieved the Certified Financial Planner designation.

Meline said he likes being in the Ingersoll area because “I just think it’s got a real entrepreneurial, cultural, artistic feel to it. Everybody is different. Everyone has a different style of business … but it’s like a family neighborhood where everyone congregates.”

In addition to his work to improve the Ingersoll area, Meline is part of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute, a circle leader for YMCA Adventure Guides and director of Vessels of Honor Men’s Ministry. He has been a leader in several other organizations as well, including Metro Arts Alliance and United Way in Fort Dodge.

In his limited free time, Meline enjoys being with his son, age 10, and daughter, age 8. He plays tennis and golf in the summer and completed his first marathon last year. He also is an avid reader, reading 20 to 25 books a year.

Mike Milligan
Executive director, Iowa Democratic Party; owner, Shane’s Rib Shack
Age 33

After college, Mike Milligan found a stable job in the insurance industry. But that only lasted about 2 1/2 months.

“The call to politics was too strong to ignore,” said Milligan, who fell in love with politics during a college internship at Sen. Tom Harkin’s campaign office.

After leaving the corporate sector, Milligan returned to work for Harkin before joining Tom Vilsack’s first campaign for governor. Following Vilsack’s election in 1998, Milligan spent several years working in the governor’s administration and serving the Iowa Democratic Party.

In 2006, Milligan led the most successful campaign in his state party’s history, with Democrats taking over several key leadership roles. His job included raising and managing a $4 million budget and supervising 130 employees.

Working in politics can involve long hours and a lot of pressure, but Milligan is not the type to turn away from a challenge. On March 8, he and his wife, Megan, will open a barbecue restaurant in Clive called Shane’s Rib Shack.

“You don’t get anything without hard work,” he said. “Anything that you might grab easily isn’t going to be sustainable.”

In addition to a strong work ethic, Milligan has found that a sense of humor, honesty and loyalty are equally important qualities for someone in politics.

“You have to be honest with people, honest with yourself and loyal to your organization,” he said. “And having fun is key. I don’t think that you could sustain that level of work and dedication if you’re not having fun.”

Milligan’s favorite thing about working in politics is meeting people and achieving tangible results, such as the increase in the minimum wage that was passed shortly after Democrats took over leadership in the Iowa Legislature this year.

“Despite what certain people may suggest, politics is actually filled with very good people,” he said. “I have met some of the most wonderful people in the world who want to improve their state or country. I think that kind of dedication and passion is something to be proud of, and I’ve always wanted to be a part of it.”

Milligan has two children, 2-year-old Flynn and 2-month-old Roan, who take priority above all else. “Not one thing is more important than our family,” he said.

Sarah Oltrogge
Public relations representative,
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
Age 35

Sarah Oltrogge is convinced that Des Moines is on the right track, with several organizations focused on keeping young people in Des Moines, the boom of activity downtown and the emphasis on priorities such as providing green space downtown and parking for new residents.

“I have lived in Des Moines for 10 years now,” she said. “In the last five years, I have seen so much change occurring. All of a sudden (there is) an explosion and deep interest to enhance what we have.”

She has been a part of that change in the East Village as president of Historic East Village Inc. and public relations representative for the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs at the State Historical Museum.

As president of HEV, Oltrogge has helped bring attention to the district with events and projects such as bringing in sculptural bike racks, in addition to supporting new development. Her role in the East Village led Mayor Frank Cownie to appoint her to serve on the Downtown Des Moines Planning Project Steering Committee this year.

Oltrogge’s interest in thinking of creative ideas and developing programs to carry out those ideas carries over into her full-time job. She designs materials that promote the department, the State Historical Society of Iowa and the Iowa Arts Council, including two monthly e-newsletters and a weekly internal employee newsletter. She drove the creation of the summer outdoor concert series, Blues Before Sunset, at the State Historical Building and has led other special events.

Yet Oltrogge’s work doesn’t stop in the East Village. As a part of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute, she mentors about 35 students once a month and works with them on a service project in the spring. She is a board member of the Public Relations Society of America and is the 2007 president of The Downtown Council. She also volunteers at the Animal Rescue League of Iowa Inc., is the art therapy coordinator for Iowa Methodist Medical Center and is part of the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s Young Professionals Connection.

Her work has garnered her numerous awards including the 2005 Lieutenant Governor’s Employee Volunteer Award and Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack’s Above and Beyond recognition for outstanding service to Iowans in the area of literacy and reading.

Stephanie Pearl
Director of human resources,
Brokers International Ltd.
Age 39

Stephanie Pearl thinks she’s finally found the company that “gets it.”

She originally got into human resources because she wanted to help people, by making sure they have a positive work experience.

“I’ve always felt a need and desire to help people,” she said. “And working for Brokers [International Ltd.] is great, because they totally get how important that is.”

That’s why under Pearl’s guidance, the company works hard to create a positive work environment.

“We have company picnics where employees and their families get to ride in the company planes,” she said. “We make a big deal out of people’s birthdays, taking them to a restaurant in a limo. We just want to make sure employees know they are appreciated.”

And much of that is attributed to Pearl.

“In 2006, Brokers was honored to be recognized as one of the best places to work in Central Iowa by the Business Record,” said John Orrell Jr., general counsel for Brokers International. “This award is a testament to the business culture administered and encouraged by Stephanie.”

Orrell said he is constantly impressed with Pearl’s depth of knowledge and ability to administer human resources with expertise, compassion and understanding.

Pearl said she works hard every day to continue educating herself in a way that can help her company and her co-workers.

“I’m a member of a lot of professional organizations,” she said. “It’s a great way to stay abreast of the issues in this field.”

Outside work, Pearl loves the theater.

“But I won’t be getting on stage any time soon,” she said. “I’ll leave that to the professionals.”

Pearl volunteers a lot of her time to the StageWest and Drama Workshop theatrical companies, doing whatever she is asked to do.

“Theater is very important to Des Moines,” she said. “It is a piece of the puzzle to making the community a great place to live.”

But as always, it comes back to her main passion: human resources.

“You won’t be able to keep young people here if you don’t have a thriving art community,” she said.

“But the main reason I volunteer is because I enjoy it and I’m not an outdoorsy person. I’m not particularly fond of bugs.”

Marcus Pitts
Senior associate,
CB Richard Ellis/Hubbell Commercial
Age 27

Working with special needs children is something that Marcus Pitts is passionate about.

“I have a sister who is a special needs student, and so it hits really close to home,” he said. “So I’ve just recently started trying to give back to organizations that help the kids that haven’t gotten the breaks that I have.”

That includes organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Iowa and Young Variety.

“It’s just really important to give back to the community,” he said. “And these are really great programs.”

Pitts is also a “rising star” with his company, CB Richard Ellis/Hubbell Commercial, as is evident in his selection for the 2005 Iowa Commercial Real Estate Association Rising Star Award.

“It was a great honor,” he said. “I’m not sure if I would call myself a ‘rising star,’ but I’m happy that I was recognized by my peers as doing a good job.”

The honor is especially sweet when Pitts remembers that a career in real estate wasn’t something he considered in college.

“I was offered an internship with the company after college, and when I was finished with that, they offered me a job,” he said. “It’s a great company to work for, and I’m really happy I had the opportunity to get my foot in the door.”

Now, Pitts has a portfolio that includes some of the biggest developments in the area, including Ankeny Business Park, Birchwood Crossing, Grimes Business Park, Riverpoint Business Park and Lakeview Medical Park, and works with several local and national clients, such as Conoco-Phillips, Ed Boesen Investments, Schwan’s Food Service and United Rentals Inc.

“I really enjoy what I do and the company I work for,” he said.

In his free time, Pitts and his friends participate in two flag football leagues, one in Des Moines and one in West Des Moines.

“It’s a bunch of guys who still think we’re as good as we were in college,” he said. “Every game, we find out just how out of shape we really are.”

Kelly Portz
Marketing director,
Architectural Wall Systems Co.
Age 38

Knowing how to speak French like a native of Quebec once led Kelly Portz to, of all things, a job with AGCO Corp., a manufacturer of farm equipment. “They had purchased Massey Ferguson, which had a lot of dealerships in the province of Quebec,” said Portz, who studied French and speech communications at Northwest Missouri State University. “Nobody was there to help with translating. My mother was born and raised in Quebec, and when one of the people up there spoke to me on the phone, they told AGCO, ‘Hire her.'”

Portz’s route to her present position as marketing director at Architecutral Wall Systems Co. in West Des Moines was a little more straightforward. After a couple of years as a marketing assistant at a Colorado construction company, she came home to work at the company her parents started in 1991.

“They needed help with computers, and it’s nice to be part of the company’s growth,” Portz said.

“I felt like I knew the marketing side when I started, but my dad required me to work in project management for two years, so I would understand what I was marketing,” she said. “It was challenging, but incredibly educational.”

Now she works on the company’s responses to requests for proposal as well as handling the marketing.

Portz is currently the president of the Distributors Council, a group of about 50 construction product distributors in the United States and Canada. In that role, she has already made two trips to New York City to organize one of the group’s two meetings for 2007. “It’s more challenging than Omaha, which is where the fall meeting is, thank God,” she said.

She graduated from the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute in 2002 and was the president of the American Institute of Architects Allied Iowa chapter from 2004 to 2006.

Portz, the mother of a 12-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son, said she hopes to continue helping the House of Mercy and would like to become more involved with Habitat for Humanity.

“I’m trying to create a joint funding opportunity for Habitat and the Iowa Architectural Foundation,” she said.

Brett Ridge
Executive director and CEO,
Make-A-Wish Foundation of Iowa
Age 37

When Brett Ridge accepted a job working for the American Cancer Society early in his career, he didn’t know that he was about to discover a passion for non-profit management.

“I was looking for a job where I could polish my public relations skills, and the Cancer Society had a good job available,” Ridge said. “But once I got into this field, I found out how great it felt to help people, and it became obvious that was the type of work I wanted to continue doing.”

Ridge, a Cedar Rapids native and University of Iowa graduate, has spent the past 13 years working for non-profits. After six years at the ACS, he was named president of the Iowa chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. It was a chapter that had been plagued by debt for two decades and was on the verge of dissolving.

“I knew that it wasn’t going to be a quick fix,” Ridge said, “and I told the staff that going in.”

By year four, the MS Society had risen out of debt and doubled its income. The chapter was stabilizing when Ridge accepted a statewide leadership role in 2004 at the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Iowa. His ability to generate revenue followed him to Make-A-Wish, and the chapter’s income has grown 35 percent over the past two years.

At Make-A-Wish, more revenues translate to more wishes for children who have life-threatening conditions. In 2004, 121 children’s wishes were granted. Last year, 164 children were served.

“Our goal is to reach all the kids who are diagnosed, and we’re getting close to that,” Ridge said. “It’s so energizing to be part of this positive experience in these kids’ lives.”

Outside work, family and sports play big roles in Ridge’s life. He and his wife, Aleks, have an 8-year-old son, Andrew. Ridge coaches youth sports and hosts a radio show on 940 AM called “Hawkeye Huddle.” He and his best friend started the show a few years ago. Ridge’s cynical side comes out on sports radio, but he says being cynical isn’t necessarily a bad thing in his career.

“I’m just one of those people who approaches things from all kinds of different angles,” he said.

Tom Rupprecht
Vice president of marketing and development, R&R Realty Group
Age 36

There never was much question about where Tom Rupprecht would start his career. “I suppose when you grow up in an industry and have had your hands in every aspect of the business, it just makes sense to want to work there and help it grow,” said Rupprecht, whose father, Dan, founded R&R Realty Group in 1985.

Tom Rupprecht is now the company’s vice president of marketing and development, but he and his twin brother, Paul, started by learning the ropes. “We worked all the way from janitorial jobs to working outside on the grounds to leasing apartments,” he said. “You name it, we probably did it.”

R&R most recently added the development of Paragon Office Park in Urbandale to its list of projects, and that’s part of Rupprecht’s focus. Along with leasing existing space at Aurora Business Park, he said, “I’m getting more involved in the development area of the company. I’m part of the development team, overseeing new developments we have going on. That’s a new challenge for me.”

Rupprecht currently serves as president of the Urbandale Development Association and graduated from the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute last year. “I got to see things I didn’t know existed in Des Moines,” he said of the leadership course.

He also serves on the Urbandale Chamber of Commerce’s economic development committee and marketing communications plan committee.

Rupprecht attended Iowa State University, where he received a degree in marketing, and has continued his education with classes at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

He belongs to the West Des Moines Rotary Club, has helped raise funds for the United Way of Central Iowa and also has been a fund-raiser for his church, St. Francis of Assisi.

In his spare time, he’s an enthusiastic supporter of ISU athletics and a regular golfer at Glen Oaks Country Club.

“I rarely miss a football game or a men’s basketball game” at ISU, he said, and this winter traveled as far as Minnesota and Ohio State to watch the Cyclones on the road.

He and his wife, Deborah, have a 14-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son.

Laura Sauser
Senior advancement officer,
Office of Alumni and Development
Drake University
Age 39

Lots of people experience an afternoon “slump” at work, but not Laura Sauser. “That tells me I’m in the place I need to be,” she said.

Sauser is in charge of fund raising and alumni relations for Drake University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, a job she took on about a year ago. She began her career as a writer, but became interested in fund raising and community involvement while working for Principal Financial Group Inc.

Sauser started at Principal in 1997 as a communications associate. In 2001, the company assigned her to help in the United Way of Central Iowa fund-raising campaign for three months. “I learned a lot about myself,” Sauser said. “I learned that I really like talking in front of people, and going out and meeting groups of people. I gave myself a year to figure out what I really wanted to do, and it was almost a year to the day when I became part of the Principal foundation.”

As community investment consultant for the Principal Financial Group Foundation Inc., Sauser worked on special events and oversaw the distribution of $5 million in cash grants to non-profit organizations in Des Moines and targeted communities nationwide.

Sauser is president of the Junior League of Des Moines Inc. She has also served as president of the Iowa Council of Foundations, was a founding member of the Central Iowa Funders Forum and graduated from the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute.

She started her volunteer career as a Junior Republican in Jones County, distributing campaign materials for Congressman Tom Tauke one summer.

“My mom volunteered with the Jones County Republicans, and we did some things with our church,” Sauser said. “I grew up with the idea that it’s not OK to come home and watch TV.”

Next fall, Sauser plans to start work on a master’s degree in public administration.

In her view, a major key to Central Iowa’s future is “the level of engagement with the young professional community,” she said.

“At the Principal Foundation, I saw individuals making large contributions, and they were all older people. When that generation is gone, there needs to be a group coming in behind them to support the community.”

Chad Schaller
Financial adviser,
UBS Financial Services Inc.
Age 32

Chad Schaller hasn’t lived in Central Iowa all that long, having arrived in the fall of 2005. But he already has made his mark as a financial professional and a participant in the community.

As a financial adviser at UBS Financial Services Inc. in West Des Moines, Schaller guides the investments and financial planning of wealthy clients.

Out in the community, he participates in the Rotary Club of Des Moines’ Downtown Club, the Westside Kiwanis Club, the West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce and the Salisbury Auto Classic and serves on the board at Link Associates.

The latter organization works with people who have mental disabilities, and Schaller said, “Link Associates provides me with the most significant interest of all the things I do. The people we impact are a demographic that most people normally don’t want to have anything to do with.”

Schaller grew up in Dubuque and attended the University of Northern Iowa, where he first intended to be a pre-med student. “I soon figured out that I didn’t really enjoy science,” he said. After giving mathematics a whirl, he chose a general studies major with a finance emphasis.

Schaller and his wife, Natalie – they met at UNI and married 30 days after graduating – lived in Minneapolis for a couple of years, then moved to her hometown of Sioux City. Schaller was a retirement plan consultant with Security National Bank for five years there.

But the more vibrant atmosphere of Central Iowa drew the couple here, and they now live in Urbandale with three sons under the age of 6.

Schaller has begun studying to qualify as a Chartered Financial Analyst. In his spare time, he coaches soccer and, when he has a chance, enjoys fly-fishing and bicycling.

Schaller sees a need for young people to step into leadership positions in Greater Des Moines, and hopes more former Iowans will return to help out. “I hope more people will move back as they appreciate what we have here (in Iowa),” he said. “I was one of those. You forget how nice it is to live here.”

Charles Schneider
Attorney,
Dickinson, Mackaman, Tyler & Hagen P.C.
Age 33

He has recruited for a fraternity, raised money for political campaigns, studied in France and gotten involved in local government. Along the way, Charles Schneider also earned a law degree and found a place at Dickinson, Mackaman, Tyler & Hagen P.C. as an attorney.

“My father started his own business when we lived in Clive and another when we moved to Newton,” Schneider said. “I really enjoyed seeing that, and thought I could help people like him who are starting a business and trying to make it grow. That’s why I wanted to practice business law, and that’s a lot of what I do now.”

Schneider lived in Davenport, Muscatine, Richmond, Va., Muscatine again, Clive and Newton as he was growing up. Many of the moves were due to his father’s job with HON Industries Inc. (now HNI Corp.).

After notable success as the vice president for recruitment at Sigma Phi Epsilon while he attended Creighton University, Schneider was hired as the national fraternity’s regional director in Virginia.

Then he gained some valuable experience as a staff assistant at The World Bank Group in Washington, D.C., and followed that up by working on David Oman’s campaign for Iowa governor and Sen. Charles Grassley’s 1998 re-election campaign.

Then it was time for law school at the University of Iowa. “I had thought about being an attorney since I was a senior in college,” Schneider said. “But it wasn’t until I moved back to Iowa that I made the decision to go to law school.”

Schneider and his wife, Lisa, live in West Des Moines, where he was appointed by former Mayor Gene Meyer to serve on the Plan and Zoning Commission. He is also a member of the Dallas County Republican Party Central Committee and the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute class of 2006-2007.

Schneider’s faith in the political process was renewed by his campaign experiences, he said, and campaigns on his own behalf may lie in the future. The first step could come soon; he’s “strongly considering” a run for the West Des Moines City Council this year.

Ray Seidelman III
Assistant city manager,
city of West Des Moines
Age 34

After four years with the city government of Liberty, Mo., Ray Seidelman saw a national advertisement for a position with the city of West Des Moines. He landed the job in 2001 and found what he was looking for: a city with lots of growth and activity.

“In West Des Moines, there are always opportunities to learn and so many new things going on,” said Seidelman, the assistant city manager. “If it was a stagnant city, I would have to move on.”

Seidelman grew up in Kansas City, Mo., and received a bachelor’s degree in political science at the University of Missouri. In 1996, he attained a master’s degree in public affairs at Park University in Kansas City.

Since arriving in Central Iowa, he has worked to implement West Des Moines’ quality initiative, developed a staff leadership program and now is focusing much of his attention on a new city department, Development Services.

This department will deal with issues arising from the continuing fast growth of the city. “Development Services is something we’ve been thinking about,” Seidelman said. “It’s a natural evolution for all of the high-growth suburbs in the country.”

Seidelman also become involved with The Home Connection a couple of years ago, and he’s serving as the organization’s vice president for 2007. The Home Connection provides transitional housing for families in need.

“I would like to continue to be involved in helping the community,” he said, “whether through board membership with groups like The Home Connection or finding things that need to be done for the Greater Des Moines area.”

He has served as the city’s campaign chairman for the United Way of Central Iowa, is a member of the professional development committee for the Iowa City/County Management Association and graduated from the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute in 2005.

In his spare time, Seidelman participates in the Brinks Social Club, reads fiction and books on leadership, and plays basketball and kickball – the city of West Des Moines formed a kickball league with about a dozen teams last year.

Seidelman’s wife, Elizabeth, is a respiratory therapist at Mercy Medical Center, and they have two young daughters.

Jill Smith
Senior vice president,
VisionBank of Iowa
Age 37

Jill Smith became tired of the direction the banking world was going.

After seeing multiple mergers and acquisitions during 14 years in the business, Smith was ready for a change.

“I wanted to do my own thing,” she said. “To control my own destiny.”

So with a friend, over the course of about three hours, she sat down and mapped out on a napkin the type of bank she would love to work for if she could. After that, she set to work making it a reality.

Smith’s dream came true with the opening of VisionBank of Iowa in January 2006. Along with her business partners, Smith has managed to jump into an extremely crowded banking market in Central Iowa.

“It has turned out better than I would have hoped,” she said. “I don’t mind putting in the long hours it takes to start a business because I’m personally invested in its success.”

She is quick to point out that there is no way this could have been possible on her own, and that her colleagues deserve just as much credit in the bank’s success.

But it was Smith’s vision that made the bank a reality, said Tom Hromatka, president and CEO of VisionBank.

“The vision of and need for creating a totally new, innovative and unique form of banking experience came as a direct result of Jill’s insight and inspiration,” Hromatka said.

Smith said not having a multimillion-dollar organization standing behind you, as most banks have, makes this type of venture a little scary.

“It’s also a matter of putting your reputation on the line,” she said. “I’ve built a loyal client base over the years, and I didn’t want to let them down.”

Besides work, Smith enjoys volunteering with several local organizations, especially those working to better the lives of children.

“I love to work with groups that touch a lot of individuals, children especially,” she said. “It really gives me a lot of joy.”

She is currently a board member of Variety – A Children’s Charity, working with them to help plan several activities and fund raisers.

“I can’t donate money or time to 75 organizations,” she said. “So I love that I can work with one organization that can help so many.”

John Smith
Vice president for alumni and development, Drake University
Age 37

John Smith admits that some day he’s going to have to take up a hobby.

“I keep telling my wife that,” he said. “Maybe one day.”

It’s hard for him to worry about things like that, though. For a guy who loves his job as much as Smith does, hobbies just don’t seem so important.

“It is such a great privilege to do this,” said Smith, who serves as vice president for alumni and development at Drake University. “It’s extremely easy to get motivated to go into work every day.”

Smith is originally from the suburbs of Chicago, first coming to Des Moines to attend Drake in 1988.

“I want to make sure everybody knows that John Smith is ‘Mr. Drake’ in every sense of the word,” said Jacqueline DiGiancinto, director of corporate and government relations at Drake. “If you cut him, he will bleed true blue.”

Kara McWhirter Waugh, senior advancement officer at Drake, said Smith was the reason she came to work at the university.

“I thought the position he recruited me for was a great opportunity, but I also recognized what a great mentor he would be for me,” she said.

Smith said his passion for the university stems from his love of the community he has chosen to raise his family in.

“Great universities require great cities,” he said. “And great cities require great universities. As the city grows, our school has to be a part of that. This city means a great deal to me, because I live here and my children go to school here. So I want to do what I can to help it succeed.”

And his job is made easy, Smith said, because of the reputation Drake has built over the years.

“Drake has brought in a wonderful group of students over the years,” he said. “Many of those people have stayed here to help better the city, but even those who don’t take their experiences back to their hometowns or other metropolitan areas and really represent the university well.”

Though he may not have a full-fledged hobby, with Drake “defining his calendar” for quite some time, he does spend most of the winter counting down the days until pitchers and catchers report to spring training.

“I’m a huge Cubs fan, so obviously, I’m a miserable man,” he said, laughing. “Our family makes an annual pilgrimage to Wrigley (Field) every year.”

Phil Stover
Owner, chief operating officer,
Third Inning Solutions Inc.
Age 36

In a letter of nomination for this year’s Forty Under 40 class, Phil Stover was likened to a center in football. “He is in on every play, starts each of them with a snap, and without whom, nothing begins,” wrote Doug Dieck, executive vice president of Ryan Companies U.S., Inc. and a Forty Under 40 alumnus.

To illustrate this description of Stover, take a look at the past nine months of his life. Stover was serving as general counsel for Walters Cos. Inc. and Walters Homes Ltd. when Dave Walters asked him to investigate how to develop an ethanol production plant. Stover partnered with another local attorney, Brian Green, to launch a company that could facilitate the development of renewable fuel projects. In December, Stover left his job with Walters Cos. to focus on his new company, Third Inning Solutions Inc.

Third Inning Solutions has grown rapidly in a short period of time. The company has 10 projects in the works, including Des Moines’ first ethanol production plant, which Walters is developing.

Stover credits his entrepreneurial spirit in part to his family. Both of his grandfathers ran their own businesses, and one of those businesses, R.S. Stover Co., is still operating today in Marshalltown. Stover has family living in Iowa, but his home state is Colorado. He first came to Des Moines for law school at Drake University, his mother’s alma mater. After law school, he worked in Colorado for a couple of years before relocating to Des Moines in 2002.

Outside work, Stover is active in his church, St. Francis of Assisi, and participates in the Knights of Columbus and the Brinks Social Club. Reading and running are two of his hobbies, and he is training to compete in his first marathon later this year in Chicago. Family life is also important for Stover and his wife, Melissa Anne, who have three sons: Hunter, Ryan and Jackson.

“My kids are what drives all of this,” Stover said. “My goal for this year is to build a company while at the same time not sacrificing time with my family.”

Channing Swanson
Firm associate,
Herbert Lewis Kruse Blunck Architecture
Age 38

Viewers of WHO-TV’s nightly newscast often see an image of Wells Fargo Financial’s downtown headquarters, distinguished by a big cylinder that lights up at night. This building is one of several award-winning projects Channing Swanson has been a part of during his architecture career.

By age 29, Swanson achieved the status of partner at Shiffler Associates Architects and is now an associate at Herbert Lewis Kruse Blunck Architecture, where he has worked for seven years. Clearly, becoming a partner at two firms is a big accomplishment for someone his age; he says it was achieved by “hard work, the ability to synthesize things quickly and provide effective solutions.”

The architect, who also has worked on Krause Gentle Corp.’s headquarters, Vermeer Manufacturing Co.’s Global Pavilion and several private residences, knew going into college at Iowa State University that he either would become an aerospace engineer or an architect. After a year and a half of engineering classes, he decided the field was “just numbers,” whereas architecture also afforded him “the ability to create things from other people’s abstract needs and ideas.”

In addition to a distinguished career, Swanson’s second choice has given him the opportunity to be a leader in Des Moines. He is part of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute Class of 2006, is on the Iowa Architectural Foundation board, is editor of Iowa Architect magazine, and is a member of Impact Downtown.

“He has taken the time to reach out to business and community leaders,” said Chris Voggesser, manager of business development at The Weitz Co., in a nomination letter, “and expand the scope of his work through these relationships and is dedicated to being a contributor to the economic and cultural growth of Des Moines.”

Swanson believes Des Moines is in the position where it can “fine-tune itself over the next 20 years,” and needs to strategically plan how it should continue to grow, a process he hopes to be a part of.

Swanson also enjoys working with emerging architects as a guest critic of ISU’s architecture program. “That’s really just payback,” he said, laughing. In his spare time, he likes to travel, relax with family and friends, and is working on remodeling a 1950s ranch house.

Kevin Tiffany
Vice president and general manager,
Direct Marketing Associates Inc.
Age 31

A 4:30 a.m. wake-up call is a little too early for most people. But Kevin Tiffany knows if he doesn’t spring out of bed at that time, he’ll never get everything done.

“If you want something bad enough, you can do almost anything,” Tiffany said when asked how he managed to force himself out of bed before sunrise.

In addition to his day job as vice president and general manager of Direct Marketing Associates Inc., Tiffany manages to keep himself quite busy. Besides being in an almost constant state of training (he has completed seven triathlons, winning his age group at the Lake Geneva Triathlon two years in a row), Tiffany has dedicated much of his free time to Metro Arts Alliance, an organization he calls invaluable to the community.

Though originally from Des Moines, Tiffany spent many years outside Iowa attending school, first in Minnesota, then in Montana.

“When I decided to come back to Iowa, I saw that a lot of people my age were heading in the other direction,” he said. “They were heading elsewhere because of lifestyle.”

That’s why Tiffany is active with Metro Arts: to help attract, and retain, young people in Central Iowa.

“Having a vibrant music, art and theater scene will help businesses attract people,” he said, adding: “These things add a lot of value to living in Des Moines, and I think that’s very important.”

Tracy Levine, executive director of Metro Arts Alliance, said Tiffany brings creative ideas to his many roles within the organization.

“He literally rolls up his sleeves, even helping to stake an outdoor fence one year to enclose our Jazz in July picnic grounds,” she said. “If you are truly seeking tomorrow’s leaders, Kevin is a qualified candidate in every way.”

Tiffany has never regretted his decision to return to Iowa to run the business his father started.

“I left Montana with a ski pass and a daily routine of hiking and fishing,” he said. “It was definitely enticing to stay, but I believe in Iowa, big time.”

Mindy Toyne
Owner,
In Any Event
Age 32

Entertaining comes naturally to Mindy Toyne, who grew up working in her family’s restaurant in the Quad Cities. While working for a local advertising agency in 2004, the Drake University graduate saw an opportunity to use her entertaining skills to start her own business, In Any Event.

Toyne’s business, which specializes in event planning and brand management, has built a client list that includes a wide range of local businesses and organizations. Some of her most visible work has been for Full Court Press, which runs a handful of downtown restaurants and lounges, including Hessen Haus and Buzzard Billy’s. Toyne worked with that group to organize Oktoberfest, which has grown each year since 2004.

“A good client allows you to take something and run with it,” Toyne said. “It’s great when you establish that level of trust.”

Charles Strutt, executive director of the Multi-State Lottery Association, met Toyne when she worked at Strategic America. He sees Toyne’s business as a valuable asset to Des Moines.

“While her business ventures with In Any Event have added to that bottom line, she has clearly had a larger purpose – to help create a city that we can enjoy,” Strutt said.

In addition to her for-profit work, Toyne does a great deal of pro bono work for non-profit organizations, such as Mentor Iowa, the Court Avenue Business Association, TeamMates of Johnston and the Johnston Partnership for a Healthy Community. She also immerses herself in the mission of these organizations. For the past five years, she has mentored a teenage girl through Mentor Iowa. Marty Lester, Mentor Iowa’s director, said Toyne has been a great influence on the young woman’s life.

Toyne likes that owning her own business allows her the flexibility to choose the clients and causes that she gets involved with.

“It’s extremely gratifying to be included in projects that are critical to the development of a client’s business and Des Moines as a community,” Toyne said.

Besides her work and community involvement, Toyne enjoys skiing, biking and traveling with her family, which includes her husband, Bret, and two stepchildren, Bryce and Kristen.

Ben Washburn
Sales manager,
First American Title & Escrow of Iowa
Age 28

Four years ago, Ben Washburn and his wife, Alicia, were looking for a place to rent after graduating from Iowa State University.

“We were just driving around when we got completely lost in suburbia,” Washburn said. “I grew up in Southwest Iowa, and if you’re on 20th Street there, no matter how far you drive, you’re always on 20th Street. That isn’t the case here, and we found out the hard way.”

So after wandering aimlessly along the name-changing streets of the western suburbs, the Washburns somehow ended up downtown just in time for an open house at the Brown-Camp Lofts.

“We loved the place, and we were sold on it immediately,” he said.

It wasn’t all that common to look downtown for housing back then, Washburn said, but in the years since, many others have joined him.

“It’s really grown up down here,” he said. “We watched the Science Center [of Iowa] being built, Wells Fargo Arena go up, an ice skating rink built, just a lot of things that make living downtown a lot of fun. Things have changed tremendously, giving people a lot more options.”

That’s one of the reasons Washburn has worked to build a strong downtown community by staying active in the Downtown Neighborhood Association, where he serves as an at-large director.

“It’s just a really great time to be living downtown,” he said.

But for someone who has bought into the urban lifestyle as much as Washburn has, at least once a year his farm roots come out.

“I grew up in 4-H,” he said. “I always showed cattle and hogs at the State Fair.”

And because old habits die hard, Washburn connected with a hog producer he used to work with and began showing hogs again. Two years ago, his hog was the grand champion.

“It’s funny, because during the fair, I trade vehicles with my producer,” he said. “People give me strange looks when I pull up to Brown-Camp in his truck. Showing at the fair is a lot of fun and I really enjoy being able to do it.”

Charlie Wittmack
Attorney,
Davis, Brown, Koehn, Shors & Roberts
Age 29

Charlie Wittmack is a firm believer that we are never too old to dream, and he tries to ignite this belief in others whenever possible.

When Wittmack talks, people tend to listen. Probably because he did something that no other Iowan had when he reached the summit of Mount Everest in 2003. It was a goal that Wittmack started working toward at an early age, from the first time he tried mountain climbing at age 13.

After his monumental climb, Wittmack got married, earned a law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law and was hired last year by Davis, Brown, Koehn, Shors & Roberts, specializing in business development and real estate.

For the past year, Wittmack has worked for the Midwest Speakers Bureau, leading educational workshops, motivational seminars and legal seminars for a variety of organizations. He sometimes visits local schools and talks to children about their dreams, which he says is an inspiring experience.

“Kids’ ability to dream is uncapped,” he said, “because they don’t believe in limitations. I think we all put limits on what we think we are capable of doing. That can interfere with our success and ability to reach our dreams.”

A typical day for Wittmack might include a couple of hours at a speaking event, at least eight hours at the office and two to three hours of swimming – he is training to swim the English Channel.

Although he still spends time on physical pursuits, his focus at this stage in his life has shifted to building a successful law practice, being a good husband to his wife, Catherine, and becoming a community leader. He serves the community by volunteering at the Science Center of Iowa, the State Historical Museum and the Boy Scouts of America. He is also a member of Downtown Rotary and the Young Professionals Connection.

“I think I’m the ninth generation in our family to live in Des Moines,” Wittmack said. “What motivates me is just being a part of Des Moines and learning from all of the incredible civic and community leaders we have here and try to figure out how I can continue on with this legacy that these leaders have given us.”