Joey Spivey (He/Him), is the learning and development manager and diversity officer at SHAZAM. His dedication to transforming the way organizations prioritize the employee experience has helped him build a reputation for consultative e-learning and instructional design, engaging facilitation and impactful organizational development. As SHAZAM positions itself as a leader
Tracy Jon Sargeant (He/Him), Security Engineer at Check Point Software Technologies and Founder of Multicultural Development Center of Iowa (MDC Iowa), embodies social justice advocacy and racial equity every day. Through his diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at Check Point and MDC Iowa, Tracy Jon supports the next generation of
Varsha Deshmukh - Jayade, CSSBB, is an Engineering Tech Lead at Pella Corporation. Varsha's journey began overseas, but she now calls Iowa her home for its family-oriented culture. As a leader at Pella Corporation, Varsha prioritizes diversity in thought. Her drive to create a culture of creativity and professional growth
Sarah Mascher Wallace (she/her/hers, they/them/theirs) is a business intelligence developer at The University of Iowa and serves as a co-chair for the OneIT Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Committee. Her non-traditional technical background and career path framed her nuanced definition of an IT professional and enabled her to expand the
Nora Crosthwaite spent years in the software development world and exited to do something meaningful and positively impact the people around her. With no sales, marketing, or real estate experience, she became a residential REALTOR® in Des Moines, Iowa, helping people get to the right house for their story. After
Benjamin Lefever always had a passion for healthcare. His passion, coupled with his drive to help those who are vulnerable, formed the foundation of Certintell Telehealth. Now more than ever before, telehealth is an essential part of our lives. Ben and his team work to bring telehealth services to everyone
Coming to America was an adjustment for Anitha. With hard work, determination, and a healthy support system, she started her own business that continues to grow and serve clients every day.
With more than 20 years of experience in information technology leadership in the retail, food service, and hospitality sectors, Adrian Butler assumed the new role at Casey’s in June of 2020 to lead all information technology strategy, innovation, modernization across the organization. Adrian’s career path has spanned from serving in
After taking over as owner and President of The GForge Group in 2011, Tony has had to go from very technical to strategic overnight. He often jokes that he got his undergrad from UNI, his “masters” working in industry and his “Ph.d.” through business ownership. Tony attributes his professional success
Bridger is a 30 year IT veteran skilled in aligning with strategic organizational goals and currently serves as Chief Technology Officer at Manatt’s Inc. He builds teams that take on innovation with a valuable purpose. Bridger earned his MBA from Iowa State University and his compassionate leadership skills from a
Bex Streeper is an HR process analyst at Casey’s General Stores, Inc., in Des Moines. Prior to that, she spent 12 years at MidAmerican Energy Company, where she performed a variety of roles in business and technology analysis. She recently earned her bachelor’s degree in organizational studies from the University
Sondra Ashmore is an assistant vice president – business partner at Berkley Technology Services LLC. Prior to that, she held leadership roles at Principal and IBM, and was an adjunct professor at her alma mater, Iowa State University. She has a doctorate in human-computer interaction from Iowa State University and
Gary Scholten is the Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer and Chief Digital Officer at Principal. He has served on the Board of Directors for TAI for the past 13 years. Throughout his nearly 40-year career at Principal, he’s been a champion for diversity and inclusion. He says assembling teams
Kerty Levy is a mentor, investor, and community leader in Des Moines. After traveling the world (literally — she grew up in Belgium and Sweden, earned degrees from UC Davis and Harvard, and worked in China early in her career), she settled in Des Moines and has become an integral
Ike Brown, a Des Moines native and graduate of Drake University, is a team leader at Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, where he oversees data management and recovery. In his 21-year tenure at the company, he’s worked steadfastly to facilitate conversations across departments and communities, encouraging people from different
As senior IT manager of infrastructure and architecture at Pella Corporation, Praveen Mohan makes sure the company’s systems are fast and reliable, 24/7. While Mohan emigrated from India to the Midwest almost 20 years ago, it wasn’t until he landed in Pella that he knew he’d found his calling. The
Louis Moreno, a student at Drake University studying economics and business administration, is one of the first graduates of the Ruan Information Technology Apprenticeship Program. In the two-year program, he helped roll out new mobile logistics software used by thousands of Ruan drivers — and completed high school concurrently. For
Edudzi (Eddie) Etsey is the director of information technology at University of Iowa Athletics, where he provides leadership, strategic planning, and operational oversight for all of the university’s athletic programs. Born in Ghana, Eddie moved to Iowa City with his family in the early ’90s and studied computer science at
Shea Daniels is a lead software engineer at Dwolla, where she manages a team of front end developers, helps with planning and hiring, and still finds time to code. As the first openly trans employee at the company, she's helped raise awareness about gender nonconformity in the workplace and collaborated
As the IT Director for Meskwaki Nation, Janice has been seminal in making broadband internet access available to every member of the community. She oversees connectivity, data management, and resource management across all the settlement’s departments, and is looking forward to continued growth in the future. She says knowing the
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