It was her job with AT&T Corp. that first brought Leanne Brunnette to Iowa. She had grown up in the Twin Cities, and received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bethel College in St. Paul, Minn.

She continued her business education at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul while working for AT&T. Five years ago, the company made her its vice president for state government affairs within a six-state region that included Iowa, and transferred her to Des Moines. AT&T later offered her another promotion in another state.

Rather than leave Iowa, Brunnette resigned after 18 years with AT&T and began her own business, Capitol Gains.

“My daughters said, ‘Iowa is the best thing that ever happened to us. We don’t want to go,'” Brunnette said. “I created this business so I could raise my kids here. They loved the schools, and the schools allow kids to be kids a little longer here, I think.” She said her family had lived in major cities, but preferred Iowa’s quality of life.

Capitol Gains is a public policy firm that focuses on communications, negotiations and lobbying. Brunnette says she uses a sales approach in her lobbying. Sales skills have been essential to her business’ success because she launched it during tough economic times.

“In an economy such as ours with a downturn in revenues, people look at hiring a lobbyist as a big line item,” she said. “Hiring a lobbyist brings a whole new value to an organization and achieves results, but it’s an added expense.”

Capitol Gains has clients in the fields of technology, commerce, transportation, philanthropy, arts and culture and child welfare, though Brunnette say business is her specialty. She says the diverse interests of her clients keep her learning new things every day and mean her business is always changing.

“I always wanted to make a difference, and this job offers that,” she said.

Brunnette also co-founded Iowa Women in Public Policy, which encourages the state’s women to get more involved in public policy, either as lobbyists or elected officials.