After a 60-day search process, Mary Sellers was named the new president of the United Way of Central Iowa, replacing Shannon Cofield, who announced she was stepping down in December. Cofield was president of the organization for eight years.

“It was a rigorous process,” Sellers said. “When I was going through it I knew that if I was chosen I would have been properly vetted.”

Originally from the South, Sellers received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida before deciding to call Iowa home and attending the University of Iowa for her M.B.A. During her 10 years as CEO of the Science Center of Iowa, she led the fund raising, planning and construction of the $62 million facility in downtown Des Moines.

Sellers has also worked as CEO of the South Florida Science Museum, and for the past two years she has worked as the president and CEO of the Children’s Museum of the Upstate in Greenville, S.C. Sellers will start her new duties on March 26.

She talked to the Business Record about her decision to return to Iowa as well as the switch she’ll be making from the museum world to a position with the United Way.

The United Way is new territory from your previous work in museums. What was it that interested you about this position?

“I’ve been in the nonprofit sector for about 20 years. Although I was working in museums, they still work based on community impact. What draws me to this effort, is that the United Way is doing bold initiatives in a place that I call home. My family returned to the South from Iowa because of aging parents, but I knew all along that I ultimately wanted to return to Des Moines.”

What are some differences you expect to encounter while at this position from your previous roles?

“The same essential elements are there: You have to identify needs in the community and then meet those needs. However, what’s different is that with the United Way, those needs are more central in people’s lives than in a museum setting.”

What will you apply to this new job that you have learned in previous positions?

“What I like about this role, and what has been central to my other roles, is that the needs have already been identified and we have a measure to gauge how we are meeting our goals. But there are other crossovers as well, like working with teammates, coalescing a community, having a diverse group of community leaders to tackle bold goals and working with the community.”

What kind of vision do you have when it comes to working with the business community?

“Strong engagement is key. I foresee meeting with people to get feedback and reflections from the community and engaging in broader conversations.”