Meet the staff
The Iowa Lakes Corridor staff consists of three very knowledgeable people working together to ensure the success of the region.
Kathy Evert
Kathy Evert received the distinguished Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) designation in October 1994 from the American Economic Development Council, now the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). She also earned the Certified Economic Development Finance Professional designation in 1986 and the Master Consultant designation in the Business Retention and Expansion Program in 1995. She has been working in community and economic development at the regional, state and local level for more than 25 years.
She is the President of the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation, beginning on September 19, 2005. She held similar executive positions in Davenport and Burlington, Iowa; Norfolk, Lincoln and Ogallala, Nebraska.
She is a past president of the Professional Developers of Iowa (PDI) and currently serves as Past President of the MidAmerica Economic Development Council (MAEDC) Board of Directors, a 10-state regional economic development association, and Chair of Community Housing Initiatives (CHI), a national non-profit housing development and management organization based in Spencer.
She is a native of Ponca, Nebraska, and obtained a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from St. Ambrose University. She and her husband Craig live in Spirit Lake.
Brian Dalziel
Brian Dalziel joined the Corridor as Senior Vice President in July 2010. He assists new and established entrepreneurs to plan and grow businesses, focusing on serving clients with high growth opportunities. Brian’s advisory services to entrepreneurs include leadership team development, market research, intellectual property protection training, financial analysis, growth plan consulting, administrative systems review and referrals to sources of investment capital and professional services providers. He will also assist Iowa Lakes Capital, a local investment fund, to evaluate prospective companies and will assist additional high net worth individuals and institutional investors to form additional venture capital funds.
Brian moved to the Corridor region from Marion, Iowa. He started the Northeast Iowa Business Accelerator in Dubuque, Iowa, and provided advisory services to entrepreneurs growing 87 companies. He also founded four start-up technology companies and was a John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center business plan competition winner. Brian holds a bachelor of science with honors in geography from the University of Iowa.
Brian and his wife Karen live in Spirit Lake with their two children, Stephanie and Alex.
Joanne Follon
Joanne Follon is the Office Manager for the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation. She began working for the Corridor in 2008 and assisted with the Target Iowa Fund Raising Campaign. Joanne is responsible for accounts payable/receivables/payroll and general administrative duties. She is a graduate of the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. Joanne’s past work experience has been in the fields of Human Resources, Payroll and Accounting.
Joanne is a lifetime resident of the Corridor Region having lived in both Clay and Dickinson Counties. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her husband, Rick and their family.
