Monica Converse has joined ICON Water Trails as its new project manager, the organization announced this week.

In the newly created position, Converse will work to bring five of ICON’s six downtown Des Moines sites to fruition over the next few years. According to a news release, ICON will break ground on the Scott Avenue dam site in April.

ICON is a $125 million initiative that will link more than 80 sites along 150 miles of waterways in Central Iowa. It is funded through a combination of public and private money.

The Scott Avenue site is the largest of the first phase of the initiative, and is intended to create a safer, more user-friendly area for activities from kayaking to fishing. The other projects include boat launches and trails, among other improvements.

The other downtown sites Converse will oversee include Prospect Park, Birdland Marina, Harriet Street, and Fleur Drive. The sixth downtown site is the Center Street dam mitigation, which officials say is further along in its timeline than the other projects and won’t be under the project manager’s immediate supervision.

Before joining ICON, Converse served as executive director for Go Polk City Chamber and Economic Development. Most of her career has been spent as a civil engineer in project management.

Converse, an Iowa native, graduated from Iowa State University in 2007. Her first day in her new role was Monday.

Hannah Inman, interim director for ICON Water Trails, said Converse’s expertise “within the nonprofit sector adds to her rapport with our community partners.”

“We are confident that she will provide both the technical and relational competencies needed to be successful in this endeavor,” said Inman, who also serves as CEO of Great Outdoors Foundation, which has overseen the ICON in initiative.

Inman assumed the interim director’s position after Maggie McClelland stepped down as director in November to pursue her own consulting business.

According to officials with ICON, Inman and the organization’s board will work to fill the director’s position sometime this year.