|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Good morning, Fearless readers:
It seems like just yesterday we were telling you we hope you stay warm during the frigid winter. Now, we're hoping you stay cool as the blistering June heat rolls in. Can you believe the year is almost halfway over?
In this week’s Fearless e-newsletter, you will find:
- A column about believing in ourselves from Mackenzie Ostrem.
- A story from Iowa Capital Dispatch about Primary Health Care no longer providing gender affirming care.
- In the headlines: Abby Delaney was named an emerging bank leader by Independent Banker.
- Register for our Fearless Focus event discussing women's health care on Thursday!
- Lots more!
— Macey Shofroth, Fearless editor
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Guest essay: The stories we carry
|
|
|
|
|
This year, I made a point to genuinely connect with other women — getting to know the real stories of both familiar faces and new acquaintances. It’s one of the most energizing shifts I’ve made for myself, sharing an authentic conversation over a cup of coffee.
This key takeaway has resonated deeply from my talks with these women:
Every woman carries two kinds of stories.
One is a story of being dismissed, underestimated or made to feel less than – because of gender, race, age or background.
The other is about the woman who showed up for her. Who lifted her up and became the voice she couldn’t find when she needed it most. The woman who recognized her power when she struggled to see it herself.
It made me realize what an incredible system of support is readily available to us if we can just stay curious and tuned in to the women around us.
There’s no sugarcoating it – being a woman in the world right now is complicated. Navigating a male-dominated field as a woman can often feel isolating.
We’re seeing progress, undeniably – women are leading companies and shaping futures, even here in Des Moines. However, concrete ceilings still feel very real. The criticism endured by women like actress Ellen Pompeo, who famously advocated for her value and was attacked for it, and the continued misinterpretation of our emotional intelligence as weakness, are stark reminders.
I’ve felt it, too.
Sharing my journey as a woman in tech often brings up feelings of imposter syndrome, a direct result of societal messages that make me question my place: “Why me? I’m not an engineer. Who am I to speak? Will men in the room relate? Will they care?”
This insecurity is compounded by experiences early in my career. I remember vividly a manager smacking my butt in front of coworkers. I froze, completely unsure of how to react. The feeling of being so objectified and unsupported in that moment ultimately led me to quit.
Heartbreakingly, my experience isn’t unique. Many women carry stories like it.
And yet, if the past few months have taught me anything, it’s this: What we believe about ourselves is just as powerful as what the world believes about us.
Believing those ceilings are solid concrete only solidifies them. When we internalize labels like “too emotional,” “too old” or “too much,” we strengthen the very walls that confine us. Those repeated narratives become our self-made cages. Thankfully, the incredible women I’ve connected with have shown me a powerful truth: We have the agency to choose a different story. They’ve helped me rediscover my self-confidence and reflect back the strength that was always within me.
So, instead of giving in to those limiting beliefs, what if we reframe our internal narrative? What if we told ourselves, “My sensitivity and empathy are leadership strengths, allowing me to understand and support those around me.” And, “My authenticity and vulnerability create genuine connections, making me a trusted and approachable leader.”
“Being a woman doesn’t diminish my impact. In fact, my voice is vital, and I’m excited for everything that’s ahead.”
Here’s what I’m holding onto, and what I want to leave you with:
Find your people. The people who uplift you in moments of exhaustion and offer honest feedback when you need it most are invaluable. I remember a woman once saying to me, “This is how your actions are being perceived.” Her directness, though challenging, was a turning point, offering a clarity no self-help book could provide. Honest feedback, delivered with care, is a true gift.
Be crystal clear about what you want. If you want people to advocate for you, make your goals known. Don’t be subtle or hesitant. Share them openly and repeatedly with a broad network. They can then actively help you reach those goals, offering fresh perspectives and uncovering hidden opportunities.
Lead with empathy – especially if you carry privilege. I have to recognize that my privilege as a middle-class white woman shields me from many of the realities faced by women of color and those from marginalized communities. I believe our leadership must be rooted in active support. This means being aware of who lacks a voice, speaking out on their behalf when they cannot, and intentionally amplifying voices that deserve greater recognition, especially when those individuals are not in the room.
Invite allies into the room. Change requires more than internal discussions between women. We need men and allies willing to learn and be wrong. My partner’s attendance at a women-in-tech event sparked a crucial understanding: “I didn’t fully understand your experience until now.” Awareness grows through these honest, individual exchanges.
For us to achieve lasting systemic change, we’re going to need a powerful force of allies, and that undeniably includes men actively standing beside us. I’ve been lucky to have feminist men who’ve proactively helped me find opportunities and used their voices when mine was limited. That support truly makes a difference.
The road is messy. The world is noisy.
But we are not powerless.
Together, we are the power.
From her Midwestern roots, Mackenzie Ostrem learned the value of hard work and adaptability. After forging a successful career path in tech, motherhood ignited a newfound confidence that fueled her leadership aspirations. Overcoming personal and professional challenges, including a health scare, she’s become a champion for self-trust and its power to transform teams. At Shift, the company she co-leads, Ostrem creates a culture of authenticity and support. She's passionate about building up women in tech leadership and helping others find their voice and build more fulfilling, agile work environments. She runs a Girls Who Code group, hoping to develop the next generation of future technology leaders.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Iowa health care center ends gender-affirming care for adult transgender patients
|
|
|
|
BY ZACH SOMMERS, IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH
|
|
|
|
|
|
Photo by Zach Sommers for Iowa Capital Dispatch.
|
|
|
A federally funded health care center in Central Iowa has terminated core care for its transgender patients for fear of losing federal funding, four sources have confirmed.
In a letter sent to transgender patients receiving hormone replacement therapy, and obtained by the Iowa Capital Dispatch, Primary Health Care stated in February it would no longer provide hormone replacement therapy care “[d]ue to a recent Executive Order restricting use of federal grant funds from being used for gender-affirming care.” PHC in the letter told patients that should the health center be “out of compliance” with the order, it would risk losing “critical” and “significant” funding.
A former PHC employee, who spoke with the Iowa Capital Dispatch on the condition of anonymity, said PHC’s executive team told employees the health center risked “losing millions of dollars in federal grant funding for the homeless support services” if it continued gender-affirming care. The Iowa Capital Dispatch granted anonymity because the former employee feared potential repercussions from PHC.
A transgender advocate and another person with knowledge of the change, both of whom spoke to Iowa Capital Dispatch on the condition they not be identified, also confirmed that PHC had ended gender-affirming care.
Primary Health Care is a federally qualified health center, which means it receives funding from the federal government through the Health Resources and Services Administration under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. FQHCs were created in the early 1990s to serve as safety net providers. They care for underserved populations. PHC is one of 14 in the state.
Representatives of Primary Health Care and Iowa Primary Care Association, which provides broad support for Iowa’s FQHCs, did not respond to repeated questions that were posed to executives, board members, and physicians during multiple weeks of outreach.
The former employee said staff at PHC were “begging” the executive team to figure out different funding methods for the clinic in order to keep providing gender-affirming care.
“The basis of Primary Health Care and the Project is the queer community … and how could we possibly continue to be that if we’re telling part of that population that [they] don’t belong [at PHC]?” the former employee said.
Only one other federally qualified health center in Iowa responded when asked whether other care centers were following PHC’s lead in terminating care for transgender patients. Chad Wolbers, chief executive officer at Crescent Community Health Center in Dubuque, said that’s not happening at his health centers. When asked if Crescent Community currently has transgender patients, Wolbers said, “Yes we do. We take care of all that present to us in need of care.”
Consulting firm cites confusion over executive orders
A principal with FQHC Associates, a consulting firm for FQHCs nationally, acknowledged the confusion over federally funded health care centers’ ability to provide gender-affirming care to patients. Steve Weinman pointed to two executive orders President Donald Trump signed in the early days of his administration.
One executive order deals with stopping transition care for children and teenagers through 18 years of age. The other executive order, which Trump signed the day he took office, is meant to “defend women’s rights” and “recognize women are biologically female, and men are biologically male.” In doing so, the Trump administration takes aim at gender ideology and the “false claim” of being able to change one’s sex. Through that lens, the executive order directs agencies to “end the Federal funding of gender ideology” and that “Federal funds shall not be used to promote gender ideology.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told the Iowa Capital Dispatch that less than two weeks after the signing of that executive order, the Health Resources and Services Administration sent an email to its federal funds recipients that they must stop their programs related to “gender ideology” for “people aged 19 and younger.” Five days later, HRSA sent another email to tell recipients its previous “notification had been rescinded.” HHS told the Iowa Capital Dispatch that “Health centers continue to provide care to Americans who face challenges in accessing quality healthcare.”
When asked why PHC still moved to stop gender-affirming care when the federal agency told FQHCs to ignore its previous mandate, the former employee at PHC said that’s “the big question, and that’s what staff wanted to know. Why? Nothing is law. … The only thing that we were being told is that they were scared to lose the federal funding that they had. Which, the amount of federal funding that they get for homeless support is a huge chunk.”
Lawmaker calls decision ‘deeply disappointing’
State Rep. Aime Wichtendahl, a Democrat from Hiawatha and the first transgender legislator elected to Iowa’s Legislature, said PHC’s decision to terminate hormone replacement therapy care is “deeply disappointing.”
She said “an executive order is not law. It is not force of law. And what the Trump administration is doing, withholding federal funds, is a violation of both the law and funds that Congress has appropriated.
“If the federal pressure has been removed, then they should immediately restore services and health care to trans patients. There is no justification for cutting off access to health care,” Wichtendahl said.
One patient who said she received hormone replacement therapy care at PHC’s University Avenue location said she felt “like all hell was breaking loose” when she learned about PHC’s decision. “It felt like the sanctuary that I had was kind of just crumbling beneath me. It was quite heart wrenching because I do love going to my doctor.” The patient requested to remain anonymous.
She said her provider at PHC was also emotional about the decision to terminate hormone replacement care. The former employee echoed that and said, “everyone seemed to be pretty emotional about the decision that had been made.” Not only was PHC stopping gender-affirming care, but the former employee claimed staff also had to remove or cross-out pronouns on their ID badges and business cards.
The messaging around PHC’s decision to end gender-affirming care was carefully managed, according to the former employee. The executive team at PHC handed staff a script with suggested responses to likely questions that patients or people wanting to establish care may ask. There were at least six potential questions and corresponding answers, according to a staff handout the Iowa Capital Dispatch reviewed.
PHC’s decision, made at the same time as Republican legislative efforts to roll back gender identity protections in the Iowa Civil Rights Act weighed heavily on both the former employee and the patient. “It’s such a common thing for trans people to not get ample HRT care, as well as HIV care. Not having good resources for that, it just really sucks,” said the patient.
Wichtendahl said now is the time for the transgender community to make its voices heard “and say you’re not taking away our health care.”
“We will make that demand that they restore those services,” she said.
This piece was originally published in the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
“THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO DO IT IS TO DO IT.”
AMELIA EARHART
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Abby Delaney named emerging bank leader by Independent Banker. Abby Delaney, senior vice president of marketing and communications officer at Bankers Trust, has been selected by Independent Banker magazine as a 2025 40 Under 40 Emerging Community Bank Leader. Delaney, who joined Bankers Trust in 2016, oversees marketing, communications and public relations efforts for the bank in all markets including central and eastern Iowa, Phoenix and Omaha. She was a member of the Business Record’s 2022 Forty Under 40 class.
Iowa Nonprofit Alliance names executive director. The Iowa Nonprofit Alliance, a statewide association representing Iowa’s 23,000 nonprofit organizations, has hired its first full-time executive director, Alex Rice. Rice is a seventh-generation Iowan and West Des Moines native with experience in nonprofit leadership, international service and youth programming. Her early career took her from France to West Africa, where she served in the Peace Corps. After returning to the United States, she worked in nonprofits, serving as a YMCA youth program director and later as a nonprofit consultant. In 2021, she became the executive director of Willkie House, a historic Des Moines-based nonprofit focused on youth and family services. She holds a master’s degree in public management from Carnegie Mellon University.
Des Moines midwife declares victory after new law drops barrier for planned birthing center. On June 6, Caitlin Hainley and the Des Moines Midwife Collective moved to dismiss their lawsuit against Iowa's certificate-of-need law that requires birth centers to go through an expensive regulatory process. Iowa legislators passed a bill in the 2025 session removing birth centers from the definition of health facilities covered by the certificate-of-need law. The legislation allows the Collective to move forward with their plans to build a birthing center in Des Moines, which is a single-family home repurposed with birthing tubs and other equipment needed to give birth in a home-like environment, according to the Des Moines Register.
Iowa women launch campaigns for office. Two more women announced they'd be running for office in Iowa this month. Democrat Julie Staunch, who has worked on other major campaigns but never ran for office herself, announced her candidacy for Iowa governor. She told the Des Moines Register she promises to be a problem-solver for Iowans. India May, a 33-year-old from Charles City, launched a campaign for Iowa House District 58. May became part of a viral moment when she shouted "People will die!"at Sen. Joni Ernst in regards to Medicaid cuts at a recent town hall in Parkersburg.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Puck pioneers: the biggest problem facing women's hockey in Iowa, and what Iowans are doing about it (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier). Iowa ranks high on child well-being report, but sees declines in education outcomes (Cedar Rapids Gazette). Unvaccinated child in eastern Iowa becomes third confirmed measles case in the state (KCCI). Betsy Jochum, 104, dies; last original member of women's baseball league (New York Times). How CDC cuts affect women with chronic diseases like sickle cell (NBC News).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Join us on Thursday, June 19, when we discuss disparities in women's health care at our Fearless Focus event.
Women have long faced disparities in receiving adequate health care, and conditions that predominantly affect women have fewer studies dedicated to them. For instance, women who visited emergency departments with chest pain waited 29% longer than men to be evaluated for possible heart attacks, the Journal of the American Heart Association reported in 2022. Only 1% of health care research and innovation was invested in female-specific conditions beyond oncology, according to 2020 data published by the McKinsey Health Institute. Iowa ranks last among all 50 states with the fewest obstetrics doctors per capita, according to the Cicero Institute. In 2024 the state implemented one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country. Women of color face heightened health disparities compared to white women. However, several health care leaders have devoted their careers to tackling these issues. In this discussion experts from across the state will share what these trends mean for women’s health care in Iowa, and they will highlight solutions they’re working to implement.
PANELISTS:
Dr. Wanakee Carr, obstetrician-gynecologist, Iowa Clinic
Tara Geddes, chief nursing officer, Floyd Valley Healthcare
Nichole Nidey, assistant professor, department of epidemiology, the University of Iowa College of Public Health
Christina Schark, executive director, Southern Iowa Mental Health Center
Be fearless. Register now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Like this newsletter? Please forward to a friend!
Did someone share this newsletter with you? Sign up here.
|
|
|
|
|
