Diversity in Leadership in Marshalltown, IA

iStock.com/AndreyPopov

Marshalltown is the largest among Iowa’s small cities. It prides itself on providing hospitality, being community-minded, welcoming, knowing neighbors by name and taking civic responsibility to heart.

At 28,000 people, Marshalltown maintains the feel of a small city while being large enough to have all the amenities you would need or desire. Its welcoming feel extends across the world with its global reaching companies and its highly diverse citizens. Located just 10 miles from Iowa’s only resident tribe, Meskwaki, Marshalltown is made up of residents pre-dating America, those with multigenerational ties to the city and others who were born across the globe.

These characteristics, along with Marshalltown’s rich diversity (almost 45% of Marshalltown is non-white), that brought a group of a half dozen local leaders together in the fall of 2022. The group included Lynne Carroll, Karina Hernandez, David Barajas, Joa LaVille, Julie Hitchens and Maria Gonzalez-Alvarez.

They gathered to seek the answer to a shared nagging question, “How can we bring more people to the table who previously have been overlooked?” In true hometown fashion, the answer they circled on their notepad was, “Let’s get people together for dinner.”

“Marshalltown is already a welcoming community, so it was important for me for all people to feel comfortable mixing and interacting with others,” Hernandez says.

The dinner group of 20-plus people sat around tables at a local Mexican restaurant, dining and discussing what they could do to expand opportunities and understanding of what was happening in the community. Out of this robust conversation, it was clear that many others were asking the same question that nagged the original six. In between bites of delicious food and good company, the aptly named “Diversity in Leadership” group was established.

Since the initial dinner, Diversity in Leadership has held bimonthly gatherings of dozens of community members and leaders to help build more representative leadership in the community. The meetings are filled with conversations between attendees, opportunities to serve and presentations by various community leaders.

Though the group is relatively new, it has established itself as a very important member of the volunteer community in Marshalltown. A recent highlight was a presentation by the superintendent and financial director of the Marshalltown Community School District.

At the beginning of the presentation, which was on important bond issues, Superintendent Theron Schutte made sure to first recognize two members of the group. He recognized Hernandez and Maria Morales and their leadership as members of the Marshalltown Community School District Board, highlighting that they are the first Latina members in the board’s history. These women are truly trailblazing strong, diverse leadership within an elected office.

“My hope for this group is to become more integrated into our community, where they feel confident that they belong and for their voices to be heard. They will be provided also with the information they need to engage in the exchange of ideas within our community. They will be able to help support and/or receive opportunities to collaborate, volunteer or just participate,” Hernandez says. “We have gathered a great group of people, and some of them are already leading within our community, so we are just helping pave the way to growth and inclusivity.”

Maria Gonzalez-Alvarez, a founding member of Diversity in Leadership, shares positive results that have come out of the group.

“Because of the group, we had a Latina leader reach out to express an interest in running for an open city councilperson position,” she says. “It is great to see new people express interest to get involved and give back.”

And when asked about the most rewarding part of being in the group, Gonzalez-Alvarez says, “It is really fulfilling to be able to engage the clubs at the high school. It makes me remember when I was that age, and I want to help teach them the importance of giving back.”

– Dylan Does, Maria Gonzalez-Alvarez and Karina Hernandez contributed this article.