Each year, the Corridor Business Journal shines a spotlight on young professionals who have made a meaningful impact on the region early in their careers. We are proud to introduce you to the 20th class of Forty Under 40 honorees, chosen by a committee of past honorees. Stephanie Koehler Executive Director | Friends of the […]
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Stephanie Koehler
Executive Director | Friends of the Animal Center Foundation
Age: 37
Residence: Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Hometown: Washington, Iowa
Education: Bachelor of Arts from University of Iowa
Best advice you ever received? Take every opportunity that presents itself and figure it out later.
What do you consider your "big break" in your career, so far? I often talk about three major events that catapulted my career, rather than one "big break;" In the interest of time, I will attempt brevity on this topic. The first catapult was selling cars for nearly two years. It was an incredibly challenging job, but it taught me everything there is to know about hard work, image, communication, and maintaining composure. The next was taking my current position as Executive Director for Friends of the Animal Center Foundation. This was my first shot at "take the opportunity and figure it out later." I had just enough skill and background to make it work and have grown myself and the business more than I ever dreamed. The final catapult, so far, was accepting the nomination for President of the Rotary Club of Iowa City Downtown. This position helped me to be more comfortable with public speaking and leadership, which were never my favorite skills to work on. Last year I had the opportunity to speak at the Women in Business Big 10 Conference and accepted because of my time spent as a Rotary President.
What would most people be surprised to learn about you? Oh dear. I know people will be disappointed if I don't say this. At the risk of being thought of as mental... I have several potentially odd hobbies. The oddest is probably making dollhouses for spiders. I also keep jumping spiders, naturally, and Willard is the most precious creature that ever lived.
If you are looking for something more normal, there's basically nothing, but perhaps people would be surprised to know I ride motorcycles and have been for nearly 20 years.
If you had $1 million to give, what causes would you support? I would split it up between animal nonprofits and nonprofits aimed at helping our youth to be successful in life and career.
