A hearty congratulations to Marty Lenss for being voted the most influential business leader in the Corridor by CBJ readers. As we are wont to do, we also like to have our editorial team select someone who we think is the most influential person in the region, regardless of reader input. This year we selected Anne Parmley.
Ms. Parmley would often call herself a “Corridorian,” especially when she worked as a senior executive at Pearson in Iowa City for nearly 20 years while living in Cedar Rapids. This commuting enabled her to keenly understand the power of the region while working deftly across the Corridor as a business leader and a passionate nonprofit board member and volunteer.
Ms. Parmley’s scope of influence has shifted primarily to Linn County over the past couple of years, but her leadership in the private and nonprofit sectors has not changed.
This past year, she has led several high-profile efforts, not to mention her day job of helping to dole out more than $1 million, making her the obvious choice for our most influential business leader.
Ms. Parmley’s day job is director of community impact for TrueNorth Companies, where she provides strategic leadership and guidance for TrueNorth’s annual giving, community engagement and colleague volunteerism efforts. She has helped advance the philanthropic footprint and community contributions in alignment with TrueNorth’s culture and values. In 2024, the TrueNorth Legacy Foundation donated more than $1.3 million.
Her trusted leadership at TrueNorth has also thrust her into the influential position of Policy Board chair for the Greater Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance.
She was the key player in hiring Juliet Abdel as president and CEO of that organization, succeeding Doug Neumann, who retired earlier this year after nearly nine years as executive director and nearly 20 years with the organization. By the very position Ms. Abdel holds, she is expected to become a significant leader in the region in the months and years to come.
Most notably, Ms. Parmley is board chair for the Linn County Gaming Association (LCGA) and was able to help secure a coveted gaming license for Linn County after several failed attempts. This gaming license will certainly provide an economic boost to Linn County and downtown Cedar Rapids while also impacting the south end (Washington County) of the Corridor and our friends in the Cedar Valley.
The LCGA team sets the vision to support community nonprofit partnerships that best serve the needs of the county. It is expected to contribute more than $6 million annually to nonprofits when the casino is operational.
There is nobody that has had a greater impact in the region in 2025 and the fruit of her leadership will impact the region for years to come.
