CEDAR RAPIDS — The board of the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation on Thursday named Karla Twedt-Ball its president and CEO effective June 1.
Twedt-Ball, now the foundation’s senior vice president of programs and community Investment, “brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role, having served in a variety of leadership roles at the Community Foundation over the last 16 years,” the foundation said in a news release.
Twedt-Ball will succeed Les Garner, who is retiring after leading the foundation since 2010.
“We feel very fortunate to have someone with Karla’s experience to step into this leadership position for Linn County,” board chair Diana Ledford said. “Karla is a visionary leader with a passion for improving our communities.
“Her strong communication and strategy skills, relationships with donors and community leaders, as well as her leadership on boards of state and national philanthropic organizations, is impressive and is exactly what is needed for the future of the community foundation.”
Twedt-Ball, 48, said community foundations “exist at the intersection of donors, nonprofits and community. We are a place where community transformation can happen as long as we listen to and are responsive to the people in our community.
“I look forward to leading these efforts and believe our possibilities are nearly boundless when we bring these activities together.”
Twedt-Ball has held a variety of executive positions with the foundation since joining it in 2007. She also is an adjunct instructor at the University of Iowa in the School of Planning and Public Affairs. She serves on the board of the Iowa Council of Foundations, including as its board chair in fiscal 2021, and on the board of The Funders Network, a national philanthropy organization.
Twedt-Ball holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, and a bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of Iowa.
“I am very pleased to be passing the baton of leadership of this important organization to Karla,” Garner said. “I have been honored to serve the community alongside her during my tenure, and I look forward to the energy she will bring to the organization. The community foundation is in good hands.”
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