I was doing some online research for a story when I came across a mention of Miriam de Dios Woodward, global CEO of PolicyWorks in West Des Moines. She was recognized recently among a distinguished group of Midwest leaders of color that includes members of Congress, CEOs and other luminaries who have broken down racial barriers in achieving leadership positions. De Dios Woodward was one of five Iowa leaders named on the list of 32 prominent Midwest regional community and business leaders curated by Madison365. The nonprofit news outlet was launched in 2015 “to carry the voices of, and tell the stories from, communities of color in Wisconsin.” The outlet’s Midwest Power Brokers 2020 list also included Nu Huynh, executive director of the Iowa Asian Alliance; Quentin Hart, mayor of Waterloo; Rob Barron, special assistant to the president for government relations and community relations at Grand View University, vice chair of the Des Moines School Board and co-founder of the Latino Political Network; and Delonda Pushetonequa, tribal council treasurer for the Meskwaki Nation, Sac & Fox Tribe of Mississippi in Iowa. “This list is not just a list,” wrote Henry Sanders, publisher and CEO of Madison365. “It is also an invitation — an invitation to engage, to create, to make your states and your communities, wherever you are across this region, a better place to attract and retain leaders of color.”