Jordan Sellergren started her relationship with Little Village Magazine as a freelance ad designer, doing one-off projects for $50 or so. Ten and a half years later, she is the owner and publisher, ushering the Iowa City-based publication into its 25th year. It covers 50 communities across Iowa with 900 Read more…
6 Iowa women share times they were fearless, resilient We launched Fearless in 2020 with a simple goal: We want to empower Iowa women to succeed in work and life. We believe supporting women and gender-nonconforming individuals ultimately helps everyone. This initiative has grown significantly in the six years that Read more…
How Anne Harris Carter found authenticity by talking about her mental health As told to Macey Shofroth | Photo by Duane Tinkey | Illustration by Kate Meyer Anne Harris Carter comes from a family with deep roots around Iowa. Her dad is considered the first Black doctor in Cedar Rapids. In Read more…
As told to Macey Shofroth | Photo by Duane Tinkey | Illustration by Kate Meyer Eva Fipps decided she’d move with her dad across the country from upstate New York to Iowa in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her dad had family in Iowa, so she’d visited the state before. Read more…
By Macey Shofroth | Photos by Duane Tinkey | Illustration by Kate Meyer In 2014, Emilea Hillman was sitting in the White House when three Secret Service agents tapped her on the shoulder. “Are you Senator Harkin’s friend?” they asked. She was. Hillman was in Washington, D.C., with the former Read more…
As told to Macey Shofroth | Photo by Duane Tinkey | Illustration by Kate Meyer As an ELL teacher in the Des Moines Public School district in 2016, Alison Hoeman was preparing to welcome young refugee boys into her classroom. However, she learned the family would be moving to a new Read more…
Years ago, when I was working on Wall Street, the CEO put me in charge of a very large technology project. I hesitated. I did not think of myself as a technology expert, and I wondered whether someone with deeper technical knowledge would be a better choice. The CEO, who Read more…
Abi Reiland opened the 2026 Taking Up Space event with a quote from Elizabeth Gilbert. “When women are gathered together with no men around, they don’t have to be anything in particular. They can just be.” Reiland said this quote captured the essence of what she hoped her annual event Read more…
By: Holly Stevenson, Ph.d., guest contributor Women in the workplace are often asked to navigate an impossible tightrope of double standards. Be confident, but not intimidating. Be decisive, but not bossy. Be ambitious, but prioritize caretaking. Lead with authority, but make sure everyone likes you. These contradictions can make leadership Read more…
The Business Record has named Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines president Kristi Knous the 2026 Women of Influence Alum of the Year. The annual award was launched in 2024 to celebrate one of the past Women of Influence who has continued making an impact since being honored by the Read more…