Leadership Iowa Participants and Locations Announced

September 25, 2018

DES MOINES—Forty leaders from across Iowa have been selected as members of the 2018-19 class of Leadership Iowa, the premier issues-awareness program of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) Foundation. (See the full list of participants here.) The eight-month program is designed to foster a passion for civic and statewide engagement in current and emerging leaders.

“We’re excited to welcome a new group of Iowa’s best and brightest leaders to take part in this program,” said Mike Ralston, president of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry and a 1991 graduate of Leadership Iowa. “For the past 36 years, Leadership Iowa participants have gone on to do great things as leaders in our communities, our businesses and our state.”

The 2018-19 class will travel to communities throughout the state for a series of two-day sessions from October through June. Each session provides participants with an in-depth, first-hand look at an important issue facing our state by way of discussions with subject-matter experts, interactive experiences and industry tours.

Session locations and topics change annually. This year, the class will visit Moravia, Clarinda/Shenandoah, Oskaloosa, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Cedar Falls/Waterloo and Carroll. Their year will culminate in Ames at ABI’s annual conference. This year’s session topics include agriculture/renewable energy, workforce, government, public safety/security, education and economic development.

Since its inception in 1982, Leadership Iowa has graduated nearly 1,200 private- and public-sector participants from across the state. Each year, 40 talented participants are selected from a large applicant pool.

Leadership Iowa 2018-19 Schedule
Oct. 10-12, 2018:        Honey Creek Resort, Moravia – Opening Session
Nov. 1-2, 2018:            Clarinda/Shenandoah – Agriculture and Renewable Energy
Dec. 6-7, 2018:            Oskaloosa – Business & Industry/Workforce
Jan. 16-18, 2019:         Des Moines – Government
March 7-8, 2019:        Cedar Rapids – Public Safety/Security, Community Preparedness & Response
April 4-5, 2019:           Cedar Falls/Waterloo – Education
May 2-3, 2019:            Carroll – Economic Development/Community Vitality
June 4-6, 2019:            Ames – Graduation and ABI Annual Conference