Written by: Louisa Montealvo, Good Shepherd, Inc.
In a roundabout way, I owe my current job to Leadership North Iowa (LNI). Not entirely, of course (I’d like to think my skills played a part, for one) but there’s definitely a link. My name is Louisa Montealvo and I am the HR Director at Good Shepherd, Inc. I was part of the 2017 LNI class, and I absolutely LOVED my time and experience with LNI. Ask almost anyone I’ve worked with since then and, chances are, you’ll find at least one (or five) instances where I raved about how much I enjoyed the program. It definitely ranks up there in favorite work experiences and I once got to take a hot air balloon flight.
At it’s crux, LNI is about relationships: the relationship we have between North Iowa and all its assets, industry and beyond, and the relationships we build with each other. I am a lifelong Iowan. I was born and raised in Clear Lake, and prior to LNI, I (perhaps foolishly), felt as though I knew all there was to know about North Iowa. I was raised here, after all. I was wrong.
Through LNI I discovered a side of North Iowa I didn’t know. I got behind the scenes access to places I never would’ve gotten the chance to see without LNI. I became a far more well informed citizen. I got to help champion a community campaign. And yeah, while I did get out of the office for a few hours a week, what I really got to do was build relationships with other professionals. It was also during a very entertaining ice breaker at my first LNI meeting that I met Good Shepherd’s then Administrator and current CEO. Seven years later, when Good Shepherd was searching for a new HR Director, that connection made a difference.
That’s why, when asked to participate in the new LNI Advisory Board, after the briefest of pauses, just to ensure I could give LNI the attention and time it deserves, I said yes.
I hope you do too. After all, who knows where it will take you.
Contact Allyson ([email protected]) to learn more about Leadership North Iowa!