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Lozier takes ‘natural step’ to Community Foundation

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Kaye Lozier grew up in Des Moines and raised her family here, and in her new role as director of development for the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation, she is encouraging people to support the city she calls a “secret jewel.” Lozier most recently worked as the administrative assistant to the president of the Iowa Senate, and was the first female president of the board of directors for the YMCA of Greater Des Moines. She is also active in several non-profit groups and is the first vice chair of the Des Moines Plan and Zoning Commission. Lozier said her political experience, civic involvement, volunteer work and multitasking skills perfected from raising five kids prepared her well for her new job, which she started Feb. 1.

What was your first job out of college?

I majored in education at Iowa State University, and I was a teacher for a couple of years. When my husband, Dick, and I moved away from Des Moines for a couple of years to live in Albuquerque, N.M., and Los Angeles, Calif., it became more difficult to teach, and I found other things that were also interesting to me. I never went back to teaching.

Why was it so important for you to get involved in the community when you returned to Des Moines a few years later?

Growing up, my parents had always been involved in the community, and to me, it seemed like it was just the way you live life, by being involved in work, your family and your community. When we moved back here in late 1971, shortly after having our first child, I was fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home mom for quite a while, and I started to do lots of community and volunteer things. Working in the community is still a large part of my life.

How did your work with state government begin?

I went back to work in 1991, working part time for Sen. Mary Kramer as her administrative assistant during the legislative session. I did that for five years, and that led to working on the research staff for the Senate Republicans. I then became the community child advocate for Blank Children’s Hospital, but I returned to work for Sen. Kramer full time when she was elected president of the Senate.

Why did you like working in politics?

First of all, politics are fascinating, and policy is fascinating. The senators work very hard to do the right thing for their constituents and to write effective policy for the state of Iowa, so it’s very interesting. And working in the president’s office is a unique opportunity because that’s where many of the leadership decisions are made. I’m also a friend of Mary’s, and I enjoyed working for her. She was the president of the senate for seven of the eight years I worked in the president’s office. I worked with Sen. Jeff Lamberti for my last year there.

What was it about working with the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation that appealed to you?

For one, this is a fabulous organization. I’ve watched it over the years, and it’s been growing in value and also in its impact on the community. It really became a natural next step for me. I’ve worked in politics where you meet a lot of people and do fund raising, and I’ve worked on a couple of foundation boards – the YMCA of Greater Des Moines, Chrysalis (Foundation) and the BWA (Business Women of America) – so I knew it from the board perspective of how foundations work. It’s kind of like all my volunteer experience and my political experience came together nicely, and I just got real excited about the work that I’d be doing.

Was your decision also influenced by your strong ties to the city?

I’ve always cared about what’s going on in Des Moines because I like living here, and I hope other people will want to live here. I really think that Des Moines is like a jewel – kind of a secret place – particularly right now, when there’s so much going on.

What will your responsibilities be now?

My role here is to increase the endowment, but it’s also to educate people in the community about how they can use the foundation to make the most of their giving dollars for the agencies and the interests that they have. A lot of what I’m doing is educating people about the foundation, and I do that in a real natural and enthusiastic way because I think it’s going to benefit the whole city of Des Moines. Also, one of my key roles will be with the Lifetown Legacy program, which we would like to kick off at our annual meeting in May.

How do you balance your career with all of the groups you support and your Plan and Zoning Commission responsibilities?

I like to be doing a lot of things at once, which is a fallout from raising five children. I like to be involved in things, and I’m not very good about sitting around. It’s all kind of working together right now, too.

Would you say that you’re as busy now as when you were raising kids?

It’s not comparing apples to apples, but yeah, I would say that my days are full. I think it’s true that if you like what you’re doing, then you find the time for it. It’s when you’re doing something that you don’t like that you seem not to have any time, or you feel exhausted by it all. I have found my job here to be very invigorating.