Women of Influence

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2020 Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines Emerging Woman of Influence: Nataliya Boychenko

Nataliya Boychenko once read somewhere that if you want to know what your life purpose is, go back to what you played with when you were between the ages of 3 and 5. 

As a …

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2020 Iowa State University Ivy College of Business Woman Business Owner of the Year: Teresa Adams-Tomka

Up high along the west wall of Kitchen Collage is a line of about a dozen large photos of various adventures that Teresa Adams-Tomka has experienced in recent years, several of them being with Above …

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2020 Women of Influence Honoree: Kesho Scott

In early June, Dr. Kesho Scott called on her Grinnell neighbors with a request. Minneapolis man George Floyd had just died at the hands of police, news and social media were a whirl of coverage …

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2020 Women of Influence Honoree: Maura Nelson

Maura Nelson’s journey to become a French professor and internationally recognized advocate of French culture and culinary techniques began with a quick glance at a travel poster at age 19, as an English major at …

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2020 Women of Influence Honoree: Sheri McMichael

All it took was seeing a sea of Special Olympics T-shirts at a Renaissance fair in Minneapolis for Sheri McMichael to know where she belonged: working to improve the lives of children.

McMichael, 57, is …

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2020 Women of Influence Honoree: Kellie Markey

Dorothy’s House and the work it does to help survivors of human trafficking all started when its founder, Kellie Markey, wanted to get involved in the local volunteer community to meet new people and possibly …

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2020 Women of Influence Honoree: Mary Jane Cobb

Advocacy for others has been a central part of Mary Jane Cobb’s life, whether it’s been as a backer of community college students seeking jobs, an encourager of women considering a run for public office …

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2020 Women of Influence Honoree: Teresa Bomhoff

“Never give up hope” are words Teresa Bomhoff kept telling herself decades ago as she sought help for her children who were struggling with mental illnesses.

They are words she continued to say as she …

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2020 Women of Influence Honoree: Romonda Belcher

When Romonda Belcher was appointed to the bench on Aug. 20, 2010, she made history as the first African American female judge in Iowa. Her passion for making a difference in the lives of others …

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2020 Women of Influence Honoree: Mary Andringa

For Mary Andringa, continuous improvement is not just a practice for Vermeer Corp.’s workers and a goal for the global manufacturing company — it’s a personal commitment and philosophy that she has championed for more …