Women of Influence

Loree Miles doesn’t like thinking of herself as retired. 

Rather, she says, “I don’t actively have an income.”

Miles’ working career spans from the early 1980s through 2018 and has been punctuated with numerous volunteer …

One of the first items Karen Novak Swalwell voted on as a West Des Moines Water Works trustee was whether to spend $4 million for a new water tower planned for the western part of …

Deidre DeJear grew up around small businesses. Her father was a car salesman before opening a home care agency with DeJear’s uncle, and DeJear spent her first job in the human resources department, learning the …

Connie Ryan’s career has always been motivated by creating change. 

Ryan, who has been the executive director at Interfaith Alliance of Iowa for the last 17 years, began her career in the Department of Human …

When Becky Shaw began her medical training at the University of Iowa College of Medicine in the early 1970s, she was one of just 15 women in a class of 125 medical students. And when …

Therese Wielage is accustomed to working hard to succeed in traditionally male-dominated industries, and along the way, she has built a legacy of service to the community through an ever-growing list of involvement with Greater …

Wendy Wintersteen knows firsthand the life-changing difference that an internship can make in shaping a young person’s future.  

While she was an undergraduate at Kansas State University, a professor offered her the opportunity to …