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Good morning, Fearless readers:
As we near the end of 2024, I would love to know: Did you have a goal you worked toward this year? Is there a goal you’re setting for yourself in 2025? I recently took to LinkedIn to ask people this – and I’d love to hear from you! Comment on my LinkedIn post or email me at emilywood@bpcdm.com.
In this week’s Fearless e-newsletter, you will find:
- A story about Trang Pham, the owner of the Eggroll Ladies in Des Moines.
- A story about a new report analyzing the economic impact of a child care pilot program.
- In the headlines: Pella Corp. has named Emily Videtto as its new president and chief operating officer.
- In case you missed it: Takeaways from our Power Breakfast on a multigenerational workforce.
- Lots more!
— Emily Barske Wood, Business Record special projects editor
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How trailblazing immigrant Trang Pham empowers other women, girls with the Eggroll Ladies
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AS TOLD BY NICOLE GRUNDMEIER
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Trang Pham is the owner of the Eggroll Ladies in Des Moines. She also works full time for the Iowa Army National Guard, where in 2016 she became the first Iowa woman infantry officer after the ban on women to serve in combat arms within the military was lifted.
Pham was born in Bien Hoa, Vietnam. A self-identified troubled kid with a rebellious streak, she became the first girl to play tackle football at Stilwell Junior High School in West Des Moines.
Pham started her business by making egg rolls and selling them for friends and community members in need of financial assistance. The Eggroll Ladies officially became a business during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pham purchased a food truck. She also started a nonprofit aimed at helping children thrive called the We Are More Foundation. Her food truck is often spotted at the foundation’s kids nights, providing free meals.
The following story has been formatted to be entirely in her words, and has been edited and condensed for clarity. This story has been condensed from its full version which can be found on our website.
Vietnamese people, our love language is food. It doesn’t matter who you are, our love language is food, because it has such a vital role. When you go to Vietnam, there are more food vendors than there are clothing vendors.
That’s what I grew up with. We came over here, we didn’t have anything, but my mom was able to bring our Vietnamese food here and make it affordable to us because of the ingredients that come from making true Vietnamese food.
I was a troubled kid. I like to say I was always made to be a trailblazer. We came from a country that tells you what you can and can’t do. It’s the type where your parents can disown you, and there’s a lot of dishonor there. I grew up in Vietnam until I was 6, so I was used to a certain type of country, and then I came here, and the wild thing is, behind the doors, our parents tried to push a certain culture. But then you go out of the doors, go to your school, and you see everyone live in a whole different way.
This is no fault of my parents. I’m talking about the culture as a whole. You get raised to be a wife, and that’s the biggest role you’re ever going to play. For me, that’s not my story. My sister’s the same way; we never wanted to just do that. I think our parents, and my mom specifically, had a lot of trouble with that, especially with me. I did whatever I wanted to do, and nothing could stop me.
When I was in middle school, I did the football thing. The only thing that stopped me was my mom didn’t sign for the next year. I was the first one in my middle school to do it, and even the teacher was like, "No, you can’t do that." I remember telling them, "I can and I will."
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In 2018, my sister was in high school, and she wanted to go to a Johns Hopkins thing, because she was interested in medicine. That was expensive. I told her, "Hey, I can’t really do much, but you know what? I can roll you some egg rolls." I grew up not really being a good cook at all. I never felt that was my thing. I rolled some egg rolls. We raised her some money.
In 2019, a good friend of mine who now works here had a cat that needed emergency surgery. We raised enough for her to get a deposit to start the payments on it. That was great. That was just for a month. Then 2020 hit, and I was like, "Well, I did want to do something special for a family this year, but it’s 2020. No one’s going to want to buy egg rolls from a strange woman." It would be unsettling to you to know the amount of people who would buy egg rolls from a lady in our strange vehicle in the alleyway of an abandoned grocery store in the middle of the night.
October 2020 comes. A friend of mine had her daughter in and out of hospital. She was up to her eyeballs in medical bills. In November, like a week before Thanksgiving, she goes, "I don’t know if I’m going to be able to keep my place." She could not meet the medical bill requirement and her bills. I said, "You know what, we haven’t done anything this year. I don’t know if it’s going to work. Let’s just post something up here, we’re helping a family, throw it on Facebook. I almost feel like people were just waiting, waiting to give. I threw it on Facebook. I had so many people. Our goal was $1,100 or something. We raised $1,500 in three days. I gave her all of it, and I said, keep the extras, because it’s the holidays. Enjoy your time with your family.
People kept reaching out, and they kept wanting to give. I said, "OK, we’ll keep doing it, and I’m just going to find another family." Fast-forward between November and through December, so up until the beginning of January 2021, we raised just under $10,000. I had brought on an impromptu board. They donated all of their time. The only thing we retained was what was required to buy the stuff, because then we didn’t have to pick out of our own money. But they donated the miles they put in to make the deliveries. They donated all the tips. They donated their time.
I had to buy a bunch of stuff. After the first $5,000, I had to bring on people to help roll. We had differently shaped egg rolls and this and that. We ended up supporting five families through the holidays. What that means is we got them Christmas presents, dinners, paid rent, paid bills. A lot of people were behind.
It’s after the holidays, and the spirit of giving starts to fade, the motivation of people to want to do more starts to fade. It didn’t for me, because I realized this is what I wanted. So, between January and March, I was like, "Hey, we’re going to try to do some dip chocolates." But the only thing they took was egg rolls. I tried to move away from it. March comes, and I was like, "You know what? I want to get licensed. I want to get a spot, and I want to give this an honest try.
We got an LLC in December, and the thing about LLC is you’re a for-profit entity. You can’t say you’re a nonprofit. So we formed a for-profit function, which is called the Eggroll Ladies. August of 2021, I got my 501(c)(3), and we formed a nonprofit called the We Are More Foundation. I wanted to help kids that grew up like me, kids that didn’t grow up with much, and I wanted to give them opportunities.
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New report analyzes economic impacts of child care pilot program
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A report released Nov. 19 by the Iowa Women’s Foundation and Common Sense Institute Iowa (CSI Iowa) analyzed the results of a new child care pilot program and projected the program’s future economic impacts if expanded statewide.
The Childcare Solutions Funds pilot program raised $5.3 million in combined public-private funding, which was used to improve wages and benefits for local child care workers.
The program was launched in 10 Iowa communities, of which seven reported data for the report. The 10 communities are Allamakee County, Cerro Gordo County, city of Dubuque, Hamilton County, Howard County, Johnson County, city of Knoxville, city of Lisbon, city of Mount Vernon and Mitchell County.
In the seven reporting communities, the report found the pilot program added 275 child care slots and hired or retained 223 child care workers from 105 child care providers.
"This program allowed us to incentivize the workers to stay with child care providers and also keep costs low for our families, which then allows them to work for our companies," said Jason Passmore, director of Howard County Business and Tourism, in a prepared statement. "It allowed participating communities to open more quality affordable child care slots, allowing more parents to enter the workforce."
The program received contributions from 373 local businesses in the seven communities, which were matched 2-to-1 with public funding, according to a news release.
"These public-private partnerships are proving to be the crucial collaboration that stabilizes child care for communities, child care providers, employers and, most of all, Iowa’s women and families," Iowa Women’s Foundation President Deann Cook said in a prepared statement.
The analysis by CSI Iowa, a nonpartisan research organization, said the expansion of the Childcare Solutions Funds program could have statewide economic impacts.
Potential impacts include:
- Creating 8,000 new jobs, including 5,000 women who could enter the workforce
- Adding 11,000 new child care slots
- Adding $13 billion to the state’s gross domestic product over 10 years
The full report is available on CSI’s website.
Related: Fearless Focus on child care: No solutions are simple, and persistence is necessary to continue progress
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"WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU THINK YOU WANT TO DO, AND WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU THINK STANDS BETWEEN YOU AND THAT, STOP MAKING EXCUSES. YOU CAN DO ANYTHING."
KATIA BEAUCHAMP
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Keyah Levy, Des Moines University’s new director of global health. Contributed photo.
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New Des Moines University director of global health brings a passion for equity and education: Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences welcomed Keyah Levy as its new director of global health. Levy will lead the school’s global health education initiatives, focusing on student’s understanding of social determinants of health and developing globally conscious health care professionals. She previously served as vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion at Simpson College, according to a press release.
Polk County names next health department director: Polk County Health Department has named Juliann Van Liew as its next director. Van Liew currently works as a director in the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. She is a graduate of Drake University, has a master’s degree in public health from the University of Minnesota and is currently pursuing a doctorate in public health policy from Johns Hopkins University. She will begin her position Dec. 18 and will train with current director Helen Eddy, who is retiring in mid-January.
Pella Corp. names eight-year company veteran as new president and COO: Pella Corp. has named Emily Videtto as its new president and chief operating officer. Videtto has worked for the window and door manufacturer for eight years and will continue to oversee sales and marketing, general management and innovation. Her new role will also include manufacturing, engineering and the supply chain, according to this story in the Des Moines Register.
Caitlin Clark joins Jayson Tatum, Cavinder twins on Forbes 30 under 30 list: Former Hawkeye Women’s Basketball star Caitlin Clark was named to Forbes’ 30 under 30 list in the sports category. Forbes cited Clark’s leading the Indiana Fever’s resurgence, breaking the single-season assist record and increasing WNBA league viewership and attendance. The list highlights 30 individuals who have made significant impact in their respective fields.
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A woman in the pilot seat: Cyclone Rocketry’s first female president (Iowa State Daily). Your body, my choice: The medical model of maternal health care in Iowa (Bleeding Heartland). Older women are changing the face of the US labor force (Washington Post). Namibia elects first woman as president as ruling party keeps power (New York Times). Study reveals women excel in effective aspects of leadership (Florida State University News). HPV Vaccine: fewer women dying of cervical cancer due to shot (Newsweek).
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8 takeaways from our Power Breakfast on a multigenerational workforce
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Earlier this year, the number of Generation Z employees surpassed baby boomer employees in the U.S. workforce, according to Glassdoor. Millennials will likely be the most represented generation in the labor market until sometime in the 2040s, and the Generation X employee count will rank second for some time yet.
How are the generational shifts affecting the workforce, and what’s to come? We asked business leaders from the four generations and a variety of industries to share their thoughts at our Power Breakfast panel on Oct. 24.
Here are a couple takeaways:
Liz Cooney, manager of inclusion at F&G, said it’s a misperception that millennials are lazy or don’t care. "We also care about our time outside of work, so the amount of time at work does not equal how productive or successful you are," she said. "They want to work hard and succeed, and then go and do other things outside of work and have that family time and community. And they value that as much as their work."
Linda Tong (pictured), founder of Linda Tong Planners, was asked if she sees a reason that more members of Gen Z are pursuing their own businesses. "I think the main reason is being in control of your time, being in control of what you want to do in your life, also just taking that chance on yourself, not just following what other people are doing," she said.
Read the full story
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At its core, Fearless exists to help empower Iowa women to succeed in work and life. We believe that everyone has a story to share and that we cannot progress as a society unless we know about one another. We share stories through featuring women in our reporting, featuring guest contributions and speakers at our events.
We are always looking for new stories to share and people to feature. Get in touch with us!
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