Though she recently celebrated her 75th birthday, her age really isn’t the reason she’s retiring, said Conlin, who was honored by the Business Record as a Woman of Influence in 2006, inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame in 2012 and recognized by dsm Magazine as aSage Over 70 in 2014. “I’m just bursting with energy to travel more places and to meet more people,” she said. “I’m planning to audit some courses at Simpson College, read more and volunteer more.”

Conlin said she plans to stay on as executive director as long as necessary to train her successor after that person is hired by the nonprofit’s board. The board is expected to post a job description for the position early next month, she said.

Based in Des Moines, the Iowa International Center’s mission is to “welcome the world to Iowa with programs and opportunities that build cultural understanding both here and around the world, one person at a time.”

Conlin said she’s proud that the organization has more than doubled the number of interpreters and languages it provides through its interpreting and translation service, which now provides emergency interpretation services in more than 220 languages.

She established the center’s Dialogue Series in 2009, a free monthly forum highlighting current international issues, offering perspective on current events and providing audience members the opportunity to ask questions and learn from local and global experts. In June, Meredith Corp. became the new partner and host for that program.

“I think the thing I’m most proud of is the decision to take (English as a Second Language) classes to where they are most needed,” Conlin said.

ESL classes offered at Deer Ridge Apartments in Des Moines focus on helping parents keep up with their children who are learning English at school, she said. The center is also partnering with the Des Moines Community School District to offer ESL classes at Hiatt, Meredith and Weeks middle schools and at Zion Lutheran Church for evening ESL classes.

She earned her bachelor of arts degree from Iowa State University and a doctorate of arts from Drake University.

While teaching at Iowa State University early in her career, she co-founded the Iowa Women’s Studies Association. She became the first chairwoman of the Ames Community School District’s Advisory Committee on Multicultural Non-Sexist Curriculums, and authored “How to Get Your Bearings – How to get a Job: A Guide for Women Who Are Unemployed, Underemployed and/or Underpaid.”