Thoughts ahead of our Fearless Focus conversation on risk-taking By Emily Kestel For our last two Fearless Focus events, we’ve talked with women leaders across the state about leadership and confidence. Those conversations serve as a perfect segue for our next topic in the Fearless Focus event series: risk-taking. After Read more…
By Suzanna de Baca, president and CEO, Business Publications Corp. What have you said yes to? Once I said yes to a job that paid much less than I had been making, required relocation from a city I loved, and involved personal danger. Why? I believed so deeply in the Read more…
As told to Emily Kestel Teresa Zilk is a mental health advocate and the founder of Stories To Tell My Daughter, which is a storytelling experience dedicated to centering the voices and experiences of Black women and other women of color. She is also the owner of Teresa Zilk Creative Read more…
As told to Emily Kestel Mary Kramer made history as the first woman to be independently elected as the president of the Iowa Senate in 1997. In 2003, she was sworn in as ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, where she served until 2006. She and her late husband, Read more…
As told to Emily Kestel Dalia Kyi is the founder and owner of Unuhe, an interpreting business that specializes in Karen, Karenni, Burmese and Chin languages. She was born in Myanmar (Burma) and moved with her family to the Mae La refugee camp in Thailand to flee the war. Kyi Read more…
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 lymphoma. Allen also works as a communications fellow with Future 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 immigrant families that formed after the ICE raid at the 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 this year are no different. They’ve taken big risks, they 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 director. She lives in Cedar County. The following story has Read more…
With 45 years of business ownership under her belt, BPC Chairman Connie Wimer reflects on how she got to where she is, and shares 10 tips for success By Emily Blobaum, Fearless editor Connie Wimer woke up in the middle of night on Sept. 1, 1976. Usually a deep sleeper, Read more…