Kari McCann Boutell, President
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Kari McCann Boutell (she/her/hers) joined the Iowa Council of Foundations as President in 2015. Kari works directly with the Board of Directors and oversees organizational activities including program development and management, membership recruitment and retention, as well as education and outreach for the purpose of strengthening and growing philanthropy in Iowa. An Iowa native, Kari brings her lived, rural experience, passion for place-based leadership, and collaborative spirit to the network each day.
Kari has a bachelor’s degree in nonprofit management from the University of Northern Iowa and a graduate degree in philanthropic studies from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Prior to joining the ICoF, Kari was the Director of Nonprofit Partnerships & Grantmaking at the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque.
Kari serves on the United Philanthropy Forum Board of Directors, Creative Adventure Lab Board of Directors, University of Northern Iowa Nonprofit Leadership Alliance Advisory Board, University of Northern Iowa Leisure, Youth and Human Services Advisory Council, and is a Co-Chair of a United Philanthropy Forum Peer Community. Kari is a Jr. Achievement classroom volunteer and participates in a local Women’s Giving Circle, where she participates on the Grantmaking Committee. Kari also provides consulting services for nonprofits and supports youth philanthropy across the state and nationally.
Kari lives in Dubuque with her husband and two children. Her earliest memory of formal philanthropy dates back to eighth grade when she joined her local youth philanthropy group.
Laura Riordan Berardi, Member Services Coordinator
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Laura Riordan Berardi (she/her/hers) joined the Iowa Council of Foundations as Administrative and Communications Coordinator in September 2020. In the spring of 2022 we decided “Member Services Coordinator” better reflected the work of this position. Laura manages the ICoF member database, membership renewals, colleague inquiries, the member newsletter and ICoF’s social media channels. She also assists the ICoF President with logistics for ICoF events, supports day-to-day operations, as well as other communications and correspondence needs.
Laura is a graduate of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa (B.A., Communication/Linguistics) and Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa (Master’s degree, Public Administration). She has spent her career in the public and nonprofit sectors working for state government, a grant-funded nonprofit, academia, and a religious organization. Laura has also served on various boards of directors, most recently for the Unitarian Universalist Association of Membership Professionals.
Laura lives in Des Moines with her husband and two children. Her earliest memory of personal philanthropy is donating the entire contents of her piggy bank to the restoration of the Statue of Liberty when she was in Kindergarten.
Contractors
Jenna Manders, Community Foundation Services Coordinator
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Jenna Manders (she/her/hers) was hired as the ICoF’s Community Foundation Services Coordinator in October 2021. The Community Foundation Services Coordinator is a part-time, contracted position with the ICoF. This person is the point-of-contact for Iowa community foundations, helping answer questions about Endow Iowa and the County Endowment Fund Program. She also supports data collection/reporting, oversees three CF grant programs, and supports CF conference/event development and implementation.
Jenna previously worked for the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, where she started as an intern, was hired full-time in 2015, and most recently served as their director of strategic relations. But her history with community foundations goes back even further! As a high schooler she was a member of CFGD’s youth philanthropy group, and in college she was hired as the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa’s Teen Trust Student Coordinator, overseeing their youth philanthropy program for two years.
In addition to her work with community foundations, Jenna is a co-owner of a family business with her brothers in Dubuque and also holds insurance and securities licenses to help people save for retirement. Additionally, Jenna serves as a National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations reviewer and received the Emerging Leader in Community Philanthropy Award during the 2020 National Conference for Growing Community Foundations. She is a graduate of Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, and lives in Dubuque. Her earliest memory of personal philanthropy is becoming a YAPPER as a sophomore in high school and fundraising for grantmaking dollars.
