Francis O. Boggus

Clinton County Community Coach

Francis Boggus is a planning professional with more than 12 years as a board-based community specialist at the local, state, and national level. He has experience in community development and engagement; grant writing and management; board development and training; community visioning, fundraising, project implementation; and heritage tourism development.

Lorin Ditzler

Warren County Community Coach

Lorin brings over a decade of experience in community development and a passion for small-town Iowa to her role as the Warren County Hometown Pride Community Coach. She previously worked as a city planning consultant for communities throughout the Midwest, and supported small businesses working and volunteering for multiple Chambers of Commerce. She holds an MS in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Iowa and a BA in English from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. She is an AICP certified city planner and a trained facilitator. Lorin lives in Des Moines where she volunteers as a board member for the American Planning Association – Iowa Chapter, the Downtown Des Moines Chamber of Commerce, and the City Sounds public piano project. She is also a musician and a freelance writer.

Kathy Evert

Sac County Community Coach

Kathy Evert is a native of Nebraska but now resides in Des Moines. She serves as Sac County Hometown Pride Coach. Her experience in both community and economic development at the regional, state and local level for more than 30 years in Iowa and Nebraska lend well to this role with Keep Iowa Beautiful. She earned a B.A. in Business Administration from St. Ambrose University.

She currently serves as Chair of Community Housing Initiatives (CHI), an Iowa non-profit, affordable housing developer. She also serves as a board member and chair of the company compensation committee for Ranco Fertiservice in Sioux Rapids, Iowa. She is a past president of the Professional Developers of Iowa (PDI) and of the Mid-America Economic Development Council, a 10-state regional economic development association; a former board member of the Historic Arnolds Park, Inc. and the Iowa DOT’s Freight Advisory Council (2012-14). Kathy is a member of Women Entrepreneurs in Okoboji, Leadership Iowa Alumni, and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Douglas A. Friedli

Fremont County Community Coach

Doug has a passion for working to enhance the quality of life for residents of rural communities and to create sustainability for organizations and programs. He is experienced in working for and with non-profit and for-profit organizations, and understanding the nuances of both. As a community coach for Fremont County, Doug is results-oriented, hands-on professional, with accomplishments as a community development director, community banker and fundraiser.

David Heiar

Grant Wood Mississippi River Region Community Coach (GWMRR)

David Heiar, a Jackson County native, was selected to serve as the Community Coach for the GWMRR counties (Jackson, Jones, Dubuque). He has over 35-years of experience in city government in three Eastern Iowa cities of Bellevue, Manchester, and Dubuque, before joining the Jackson County Economic Alliance in July of 2013. His background includes downtown redevelopment, community development, rural, and urban economic development including workforce development, existing industry services, business attraction, and new business development. Heiar was inducted onto the Iowa League of Cities Hall of Fame in 2019.

Margo Underwood

Special Advisor / Pocahontas County Community Coach

Margo Underwood is president of Underwood Consulting, a business that provides resource management and public relations services to communities, businesses and non-profit organizations. Margo has 20 years of experience in both the public and private sectors working with communities to help them develop solid waste plans in Iowa and Minnesota. Margo serves as chair of the Iowa Natural Resource Commission and is a past president and current board member of Trees Forever. Margo grew up on an Iowa Century Farm in Scott County, received her B.S. and M.S. Degrees from ISU, and serves as the KIB Hometown Pride Community Coach in nine communities in Pocahontas County.