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Good morning, Fearless readers:
Happy October. By the end of this month, the Fearless initiative will have been going strong for four years. Thank you for your readership and engagement!
In this week’s Fearless e-newsletter, you will find:
- A story from Jefas Magazine about Paola Elena Acuña, a Des Moines-based entrepreneur.
- A column about homeownership by Sara Hopkins.
- In the headlines: upcoming events about entrepreneurship and 6-on-6 basketball.
- In case you missed it: A fun read, our copy editor Kyle Heim tells the story of Phill the water buffalo's impact at the Iowa Farm
Sanctuary.
- Lots more!
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Last, but
certainly not least, we want to share the names of our speakers for this year’s Fearless Annual Celebration from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 30 at the Downtown Marriott in Des Moines. Sign up to attend today! Speakers for the program will include:
- Tara Geddes, chief nursing officer, Floyd Valley Healthcare
- Sara Kurovski, mayor, Pleasant Hill | CEO and president, Make-A-Wish Iowa
- Trang
Pham, owner, Eggroll Ladies
— Emily Barske Wood, special projects editor
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Jewelry designer channels African ancestors in designs
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| BY CHRISTINA FERNANDEZ-MORROW FOR JEFAS: LATINAS IN BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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Editor’s note: Fearless will be sharing one Jefas Magazine story in the first e-newsletter of the month through November. Jefas: Latinas in Business Magazine showcases Latina entrepreneurs. Find the magazine online and at Latina-owned
businesses across Iowa, the Quad Cities, Chicago and Nebraska. To order copies for your place of business, contact Erika Macias at holaamerica2000@gmail.com.
Pictured: Paola Elena Acuña, owner of Piedras Haseya at Mainframe Studios in Des Moines. Photo by Wezz De La Rosa / Hola Iowa
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Paola Elena Acuña moved to Des Moines two months before everything shut down. It gave her plenty of time to plan how she could kick-start the jewelry design business she started in New Jersey before the move. By 2021 she had her LLC for Piedras Haseya, an Indigenous word meaning "rise up." A few weeks later she was selected as a vendor at the Valley Junction Farmers Market.
"Coming to Iowa has been a tremendous opportunity for my business," Acuña said.
In New Jersey, she was taking a course load of business and entrepreneurship college classes, working full time and teaching Zumba while working on her designs. "Everything is more expensive than in Iowa, so I had to work all these jobs and couldn’t just focus on my business."
Moving has allowed her to concentrate on her art and business full time.
As an Afro-Costa Rican, she infuses
her heritage into her work to create unique pieces not found anywhere else in Iowa. "My culture as an Afro-Latina inspires my art. Ever since I was a little girl I’ve loved handmade jewelry that my mom bought me from artists in my country. Everywhere you go in Costa Rica there are artists selling their work."
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That’s what makes her pieces so special. Each one is designed using techniques she learned as a child, growing up among other artists who sold their work around Costa Rica. "I love designing earrings. Sometimes I’ll come up with a design and love it so much that I’ll make 20 in different colors," she said, eyes sparkling in excitement. "Other times I create a design that I love, and I only make one." The colors she prefers are bright, vibrant and of varied significance; they tell a story. Some of her signature designs use beads that are handmade in Africa using recycled materials symbolic of the African diaspora. "I like to honor my ancestors through my pieces," she said of using these high-quality beads and crystals.
Offering these wearable works of art at a price point Iowans are comfortable paying is a challenge. She works with a financial coach at the Evelyn K. Davis Center, where she participated in a business accelerator program and met contacts who became colleagues and customers. "If you can’t manage your finances, your business won’t succeed," she said of the ways she’s learned to make purchase decisions for the Triple-A grade crystals, gold, silver and stainless steel she uses for her jewelry. "I make a lot of sacrifices to invest in materials that ensure my jewelry will last a long time. No one wants beautiful jewelry that breaks as soon as they wear it." Acuña also invests in traveling to other states to buy supplies, and in an accountant she trusts. Building her reputation as a solid businesswoman and
artist is important in reaching her goal of participating in art shows and markets across the state and beyond. She applied for a spot at the Des Moines Downtown Farmers Market in 2022 but wasn’t accepted, so she applied again the following year. She was selected in 2023 and again this year.
In the coming years, Acuña hopes to expand her offerings. She has partnered with a childhood friend, also an artist, who makes small accessories from wood and coconut shells. On a recent trip to Costa Rica, she stocked up on her work, plus gems, crystals and other supplies she’ll use to design jewelry for markets, shows and festivals. She works out of her space at Mainframe Studios in downtown Des Moines, where rent is affordable, and she is
surrounded by other creatives. She has regular customers at their monthly First Friday events, where she sells what she’s made throughout the week and takes orders for custom pieces. Working near other artists has its perks. In April she collaborated with a fashion designer and several photographers for The Curve Factor, a body positivity fashion show and vendor showcase at Mainframe where models wore her jewelry.
An entrepreneur can’t help but see opportunity, and that was no different when Acuña became a first-time mother in 2023. Throughout her pregnancy she learned about the maternal health crisis in the U.S., with the highest maternal and infant mortality rate of all high-income countries in the world. For Black women, that
rate is nearly three times higher than average, which really affected this new mom.
Soon after her daughter Konah was born, Acuña began the process of becoming a certified doula and lactation specialist. She is just a few months shy of meeting this goal and sees it as a much-needed niche in Des Moines. "I want to advocate for women like me, who have African ancestry, or who speak Spanish. I want to empower them to have healthy births because giving birth is a natural process and it should be safe." This new adventure would be alongside Piedras Haseya but isn’t a stretch for a woman used to juggling multiple ventures at a time. It’s part of the legacy she hopes to instill in her daughter, who is almost a year old and has spent
countless hours at her mother’s side as she designs and sells her jewelry. "I’ve gotten the opportunity to do so many things during the different seasons of my life. I want that for her. She’s growing up in the studio and goes to the markets and shows. I’d love for her to learn from me, but if she wants to be a doctor instead, that’s good, too," said Acuña, as she lovingly nestled Konah on her lap while the baby babbled and smiled at her mother.
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How women can overcome barriers to homeownership
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 Homeownership is a dream for so many people, and helping more people achieve that goal is something I’m very passionate about. Everyone deserves the opportunity to become a homeowner, but as a realtor, I see too often how that dream is out of reach, particularly for women.
Single women have made significant strides in the housing market, now accounting for 17% of all homebuyers compared to 9% of single men, according to the National Association of Realtors. While these gains are impressive, research by the Urban Institute highlights that gender disparities in financial knowledge and confidence still exist. To address these challenges and empower more women to become homeowners, we can be proactive to help women overcome these obstacles by prioritizing education and programs that specifically address women’s unique barriers.
It’s easy to forget that just a generation ago, it was difficult for women to get a store credit card, let alone a mortgage. While we’ve made a lot of progress in breaking down legal barriers to women owning property, there are still systemic challenges that disproportionately affect women.
Gender pay gap: For many reasons, women still earn — on average — less than men, which can make it more difficult for women to save for a down payment or build up the savings needed
to maintain a home. Women of color make even less compared to men. Because women also lose income when they take time out of the workforce to have kids, they work fewer hours a week because they are the primary parent or caregiver to older family members, or they’re actually getting paid less for the same work, they often have to work much harder to save up for a home.
The cost of motherhood: Women are more likely to work part time or fewer hours because they are the primary parent or because they are a single parent. Research
shows that female-headed single-parent households are more likely to be renters than homeowners.
Self-doubt: While not exclusive to women, women may be less likely to step out of our comfort zones or pursue something like homeownership if they feel unsure of the process or think they might not be able to purchase their own home. I will never forget having coffee with a client who is a single woman. We were talking through the process of buying a home when she teared up and admitted she truly never thought she would be a homeowner
because she wasn’t married.
Credit score: Did you know that, on average, women are more likely to have a lower credit score than men, which also makes it harder to get a mortgage? This can also result in higher interest rates.
I know these barriers can make it difficult, but I am here to tell you
that you can become a homeowner. Here are a few tips.
Save for a down payment: One of the most important things that women can do to overcome the barrier of the gender pay gap is to save for a down payment. There are a number of ways to do this, such as opening a high-yield savings account or investing in a retirement account.
Specialty programs: There are a number of programs available for either first-time homeowners, or anyone making less than 80% of the median income for your county. Some examples of this are Iowa Finance Authority or Neighborhood Finance Corp. These programs are not always income based and can offer down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers or forgivable grants to help with renovations needed or closing costs.
Shop around for a lender: My clients are always amazed when I tell them shopping for a lender is something they should do. Each lending institution will have different rates and fees, and some may have programs better suited for your specific situation. Don’t be afraid to shop around.
Educate yourself about the homebuying process: Knowledge builds confidence. If you think buying a home is a goal you
want for yourself in the next year, or five years, or 10 years, start learning about the process. When you understand the steps involved, you’ll feel more prepared and will be better equipped to find solutions to any challenges to homeownership you may specifically be facing. There are plenty of local and online resources; the four-week course that I host is specifically targeted for
women.
Every woman deserves to have the dream of homeownership. It’s just a matter of possessing the strategies and wisdom to make it happen.
A Des Moines native, Sara Hopkins is a top-producing realtor specializing in helping women achieve their homeownership goals. With a focus on personalized guidance and a stress-free process, Hopkins and her team build their business on referrals and community involvement.
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"OUR DEEPEST WISHES ARE WHISPERS OF OUR AUTHENTIC SELF. WE MUST LEARN TO RESPECT THEM. WE MUST LEARN TO LISTEN."
SARAH BAN BREATHNACH
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ISU Pappajohn Center hosting SheTalks on Oct. 17: The Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship at Iowa State University is hosting the SheTalks event on Oct. 17, featuring the stories of seven women from the Ames community. The event is from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the ISU Research Park Core Facility Atrium, 1805 Collaboration Place in Ames. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is encouraged.
The speakers include:
- Jennifer Knox – founder of Saltlickers and associate teaching professor at Iowa State University
- Ellyn Grimm and Amanda Lepper – founders of Dog-Eared Books
- Lindsey Long – senior director of donor relations at the Iowa State Foundation, former assistant athletics director, and former ISU soccer player
- Kori Heuss – owner of Heuss Printing
- Jassma’ray Johnson – Recent ISU graduate, founder of Simply Samone, licensed massage therapist
- Melissa Chamberlin – associate professor of management at Iowa State University
Iowa’s push to clear a backlog of sexual assault kits tested just over a third of them: When former Attorney General Tom Miller announced the end of Iowa’s initiative to catch up with the backlog of sexual assault kits in 2021, he hailed it
as a huge achievement for the state. But only a fraction of the untested sexual assault kits identified at the time, about 37%, or 1,584, wound up being tested, according to the Des Moines Register. One reason the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Criminalistics Laboratory tested so few kits was that state officials initially didn’t know there were so many, said Marti Anderson, a
former state legislator who headed the Iowa Justice Department’s Crime Victim Assistance Division at the time. "The DCI laboratory had inadequate personnel to process many kits quickly… The lab was approved for four new technicians, but it takes 18 months to two years to train them," Anderson told the Register. The lab's budget also lacked the funding needed: Testing DNA samples in each kit costs about $1,400, beyond analysts’ salaries.
An ode to 6-on-6 basketball in Iowa: The State Historical Society of Iowa and Iowa PBS
will show "More Than a Game: 6-on-6 Basketball in Iowa." at 1 p.m. on Oct. 19 at the State Historical Museum of Iowa. The one-hour Iowa PBS documentary takes a look back at the game and what it meant to generations of girls who played it. Following the documentary, former Iowa women’s basketball head coach Lisa Bluder will deliver a keynote and then join a panel that includes sports historian Lori Witt and former Iowa six-player standouts, Geri (Grimm) Dirth and Susan (Koering) Orvis. Register online.
Kemin Industries names Burt to new head of global corporate affairs role: Des Moines-based global ingredient manufacturer Kemin Industries has appointed Lauren Burt to the company’s new position of head of global corporate affairs. She will oversee Kemin’s corporate and public affairs strategy, including public and media relations, corporate reputation, crisis management and global community engagement. Burt most recently served for four years as Kemin’s head of worldwide communications. She joined Kemin in 2016.
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Phill the water buffalo instantly captured my heart, as he did with so many other Iowans
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| BY KYLE HEIM, BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS CORP. COPY EDITOR
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I first got to know Phill through news stories, in social media posts and on local TV.
By the time I met him while volunteering at Iowa Farm Sanctuary in Oxford, the water buffalo was an established celebrity.
The story of his escape — how he evaded slaughter, led officials on a five-day chase through Pleasant Hill and spent about two weeks recovering from a gunshot wound in Iowa State University’s Large Animal Hospital — had been shared everywhere from the front cover of the Des Moines Register to the Washington Post’s Inspired Life section.
But the story of the rest of his life in sanctuary is just beginning to unfold.
"If you were particularly touched by Phill, consider digging into that, that place of empathy that you felt for him, and exploring that and figuring out why you felt that and how that can be translated to making a difference for those other 124 million farm animals in Iowa alone," said IFS co-founder Shawn Camp. "He’s no different. At the end of the day, he’s just a bull, like the ones we see across the street on pasture."
I first met Phill after
finishing with chores at the sanctuary on Sept. 14, three days after he arrived.
I watched in awe not because of how famous he’d become but by the fact that his act of bravery not only saved his own life but the lives of his two friends, Jane and Sal, who stood cautiously behind him. Continue reading
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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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