Meet the staff
The Iowa Lakes Corridor staff consists of six 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 First Vice 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.
Shaun Arneson
Shaun Arneson has been with the Iowa Lakes Corridor since May 2006, and currently serves as Vice President. Prior to joining the Iowa Lakes Corridor, he was Manager of Business & Community Development/Key Accounts Manager for Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative in Estherville, Iowa, for seven years. He also served as the Economic Development Coordinator for the City of Jackson Minnesota and Community Development Coordinator for Sullivan County Development in Milan Missouri.
Shaun currently serves on the Professional Developers of Iowa Board of Directors. He holds an MA degree in Community & Regional Planning, with emphasis on rural economic development, from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (1996). He also received a BA in Education from Simpson College (1991) and an Associates Degree in Architectural Drafting from Des Moines Area Community College (1992).
Shaun resides in Spirit Lake and has two children, Lindsey and Zach.
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.
Holly Pearson
Holly Pearson is the Economic Development Coordinator at the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation with the responsibility of market research, coordinating youth entrepreneurship programs and several other tasks along with workforce recruitment. Holly is part of the Spencer USA group and is a board member for the state’s Young Professionals Iowa organization. Prior to joining the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation, Holly graduated from Iowa State University with a major in Communication Studies. Holly and her husband Jay reside on a farm outside of Everly with their son, Hunter.
Samantha Miller
Samantha Miller became a permanent member of the Iowa Lakes Corridor staff in February 2010, as the Communications Coordinator. She writes and distributes press releases, writes the monthly Corridor newsletter, takes care of marketing and advertising needs, and keeps the Web site up-to-date. She also helps with the Location One Information Systems (LOIS) database. Samantha got her bachelor’s degree in English, emphasis in nonfiction writing, from the University of Iowa. Prior to the Corridor, she was a reporter for the Estherville Daily News and an intern reporter for the Spencer Daily Reporter. Samantha grew up in Milford and currently lives in Spirit Lake with her husband Shane.
Joanne Follon
Joanne Follon is the Executive Assistant for the Iowa Lakes Corridor Economic 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.
