In the last few months, Cedar Rapids’ nonprofit sector experienced a leadership shift that reveals both the strength and fragility of the invisible infrastructure holding our community together.
June brought news that Clint Twedt-Ball would step down as executive director of Matthew 25 after 19 years at the helm of the organization he co-founded. Under his leadership, Matthew 25 grew from two staff members to 37, restored more than 1,000 homes, and launched innovative programs from a tool library to net-zero housing construction.
Mr. Twedt-Ball’s departure — along with the departure of The District: Czech Village & New Bohemia’s executive director, Jennifer Borcherding, in August — left two community development organizations seeking leaders capable of managing complex operations and deep community relationships. At around the same time, NewBo City Market and the Iowa Ceramics Center and Glass Studio (ICCGS) also began searching for new executive directors, respectively.
Then came Sept. 30, and two simultaneous announcements. Sarah Blais, who had spent four years at NewBo City Market rising from development director to senior director of operations, was named executive director of ICCGS. The same day, Scott Wilson announced he was leaving a 19-year career as Cedar Rapids Kernels general manager to become NewBo City Market’s new executive director.
These transitions reveal what successful nonprofit leadership actually requires: the cross-section between passion for mission and career advancement. Mr. Wilson chose NewBo City Market not despite his business expertise, but because it offered “community connections” while giving him summers with family. It appears that both Ms. Blais and Mr. Wilson have found organizations that align their values with their professional growth — and that’s the model that should be replicated across the nonprofit sector.
Too often, we expect nonprofit leaders to choose between mission and career. As Brucemore’s CEO, David Janssen, noted in his analysis of sector misconceptions — which was published as a guest column in the CBJ in 2024 — we persist in expecting staff to accept a “vow of poverty,” we pressure organizations to minimize overhead and administration, and we treat fundraising as simple asking rather than professional relationship-building. These myths “create unnecessary barriers for the sector’s growth,” Mr. Janssen wrote, and drive talented professionals away.
Consider what these leaders bring: Mr. Wilson’s 19 years managing complex stadium operations through floods, a pandemic, and a derecho. Ms. Blais’ success securing funding for NewBo’s $6 million capital campaign. These aren’t charity workers — they’re sophisticated business operators who chose mission-driven work because organizations made it professionally viable.
Matthew 25’s co-founder, Courtney Ball, is serving as interim executive director while the organization seeks its next leader. Finding someone capable of leading more than 30 staff members and multiple social enterprises will require competitive compensation and a clear career pathway.
Matthew 25 touches housing, food security and crisis response. NewBo City Market incubates small businesses. ICCGS drives the creative economy. These aren’t nice-to-have services — they’re economic infrastructure. The transitions of summer 2025 remind us that strong communities require strong nonprofit leadership, and strong leaders need both mission alignment and professional opportunity.
The Corridor has a choice: invest in nonprofit leadership as seriously as we invest in for-profit business development, or risk losing the infrastructure that makes our community thrive.
