Last May was a very big month for Brenna Finnerty. She received a Master of Public Administration degree from Drake University and took on a new role with UnityPoint Health – Des Moines as annual giving director of Blank Children’s Hospital. To top it off, she helped celebrate the opening of the Ashley Okland Star Playground, a project she co-chaired for more than two years. 

“I’ve always been interested in volunteering,” the high-energy marketing professional said. “I truly feel that being a part of your community means giving back to your community – everyone has time, talent and treasure and needs to find ways to give back.” 

Finnerty began working for Iowa Realty Co. Inc. when she was just 17 and later interned with the company while at Iowa State University prior to beginning her first professional position there as special events coordinator in 2005. From that position, she got to know many of the staff at Blank Children’s Hospital, the sponsor organization of the Festival of Trees & Lights. 

“I have four younger siblings, and a piece of advice I’ve always given them that I learned from my time with the school-to-work program in high school at Waukee is to take full advantage of opportunities that are presented,” she said.

Finnerty sees her newest role with Blank Children’s Hospital as an opportunity to balance her career and volunteer lives in a different way.

“I’ve always been in marketing/commuinications as a career and chose fundraising as my volunteer activity,” she said. ““Now I’ve just kind of switched that to where I do the fundraising for a career and still do the communication for organizations.” 

She counts the completion of the Ashley Okland Star Playground as probably her proudest accomplishment, particularly since it has led Variety – The Children’s Charity to decide to build a special-needs playground just like it in Cedar Rapids.

On a personal level, Finnerty enjoys running, bicycling and traveling with her boyfriend, and she’s a self-proclaimed book nerd. “Historical fiction is probably my favorite genre,” she said. 

Reasons she’s a forty:

• She led the planning for the 2014 Festival of Trees & Lights, raising over $480,000.  
•  As marketing and communications manager for UnityPoint Health, she led a team responsible for strategic communications for more than 150 clinics and 1,000 health providers • She coordinated the Ashley Okland Star Playground project and helped raise more than $340,000 in donations.
• She assisted the Des Moines Bicycle Collective in launching the first Open Streets event, which drew approximately 5,000.