As told to Emily Kestel Jo Allen is a nonbinary entrepreneur who started their photography business, Jovisuals, primarily as a way to help LGBTQ people feel valued, empowered and visible. In 2016, they were diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s Burkitt Read more…
As told to Emily Kestel Maria Gonzalez-Alvarez is a disaster case manager for the tornado and derecho programs at Mid-Iowa Community Action in Marshalltown. She is the co-founder and co-organizer of Immigrant Allies, which is a resource organization that helps Read more…
One year ago we launched Fearless. Ahead of the launch, we spent months planning what was years’ worth of ideas about how we could work toward our goal of empowering Iowa women to succeed in work and life. This platform Read more…
By Emily Kestel Last year, to launch the Fearless initiative, we introduced you to 12 fearless Iowa women. Together, they were courageous, honest, confident, persistent, brave, purposeful, daring, resilient, authentic, unselfish, passionate and persistent. The six people we talked to Read more…
As told to Emily Kestel Suzan Erem is an organizer and writer. In 2015, she co-founded the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust, which is a nonprofit dedicated to protecting land to grow healthy food. She continues to serve as its executive Read more…
By Brittany Heard, lead adviser, Foster Group In my role as a financial adviser, I get to meet with a variety of people from different stages of life who have different experiences with money. Some women I meet are very Read more…
By Emily Kestel, Fearless editor The theme of this year’s Women Lead Change Central Iowa Conference was “Joining Voices: Leaders for Equity.” One way I like to practice equity is by sharing knowledge. In this case, sharing knowledge looks like Read more…
KNOW YOUR WORTH: FEARLESS STORIES AT WORK, BY Speaking up used to be a struggle for Deanna Strable-Soethout. When she was in her 30s, Strable-Soethout became the youngest person to hold the position of senior vice president at Principal Financial Read more…
By Emily Kestel, Fearless editor In 2016, David G. Smith and W. Brad Johnson published their first book, “Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women.” A year later, the #MeToo movement dominated the headlines and Smith and Johnson Read more…
By Emily Kestel, Fearless editor Period shaming is pervasive: A 2018 study by Thinx revealed that nearly 60% of menstruators have felt embarrassed simply because they were on their period. Additionally, 62% admit feeling that they feel uncomfortable using the Read more…