Lindsey Hayes, commercial loan operations manager, VisionBank I have three children ages 18, 11, 6. I am an alcoholic in recovery for 13 years. I’ve dealt with family and marriage abuse, and dysfunction. I had stage 3 breast cancer in Read more…
Mary Core, business coordinator, Avenue Scholars I went to work after high school for Principal Financial Group (Bankers Life at the time) in an entry-level position. With dedication and receiving their top-notch training, I worked my way to a leadership Read more…
Kathleen Till Stange, independent board director I recently participated in the West Des Moines Citizens Fire Academy. I had already participated in the citizens police academy and citizens EMS academy, so I thought the citizens fire academy would be a Read more…
Brittney Haskins, childbirth education coordinator, UnityPoint Health-Des Moines Selling my business, One Sweet Kitchen, to my employee in late 2020. Being a baker had been my identity for years, but everything in my life was telling me to let it Read more…
By Suzanna de Baca, president and CEO, Business Publications Corp. I recently attended a reunion of my MBA class in October, so it seemed like a synergistic and wonderful coincidence that in the following weeks, two young women separately reached Read more…
As told to Emily Kestel Patty Sneddon-Kisting is the executive director of the Urbandale Food Pantry. She and her wife, Lisa, have two children: Addi and Cooper. Another child, Hudson, died shortly after birth. They are expecting their fourth child Read more…
As told to Emily Kestel Self-proclaimed ‘popcorneur’ Sydney Rieckhoff is the CEO of Almost Famous Popcorn, a small-batch gourmet popcorn company she started with her brother in 2012 at age 14. Now with 50 employees, the company has a factory Read more…
As told to Emily Kestel Denise O’Brien is an activist, organic farmer and co-founder of the Women, Food and Agriculture Network. She lives on a 17-acre farm in Cass County with her husband, Larry Harris. The following story has been Read more…
As told to Emily Kestel Upon summiting the Vinson Massif in Antarctica on Dec. 28, 2021, Jen Loeb became the first woman from Iowa to climb the “Seven Summits,” which are the highest peaks on the seven continents. She lives Read more…
As told to Emily Kestel Courageous Fire is a social entrepreneur and owner of Courageous Fire LLC, a company that educates the community about domestic violence, and the founding executive director of Courageous Access, a nonprofit that provides direct services Read more…