Katherine Harrington is a ballerina turned executive and is the President & CEO of the West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce. Katherine started in this role on April 1, 2022. During her tenue at the Chamber, she has built an award-winning team that enjoys many accomplishments. Some of them include, in 2022 the WDM Chamber was honored with the ACCE Chamber of the Year USA as one of three finalists. Over the last three years, she created several groundbreaking new programs and committees including the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee who produces the international, award-winning Athene Black & Brown Business Summit & Pitch Competition, Diversity Week, and Diversity Fundraiser. She also helped to create the DEI Workplace Excellence Awards that has been nationally recognized by ACCE as an event other Chambers around the country should adopt, the Best of the West Awards, the award-winning Racoon River Rally, WDM Newsletter, WDM Edge events, Business Survival Toolkit Covid events, Talent Attraction Partnerships and more. With Katherine and her team’s efforts, they have been able to give back more than $150,000 to a wide variety of non-profit organizations, entrepreneurs and Black & Brown Businesses in the State of Iowa and across the U.S.
Katherine has an extensive background in public speaking, media sales, revenue stream creation, event development, innovation, and leadership with organizations including US Magazine in New York City, Crain’s Chicago Business, San Diego Business Journal, DSM Magazine and the Des Moines Business Record. She also bootstrapped and ran her own glossy technology magazine, events, and digital news organization serving leaders in the booming tech and internet industries in San Diego called The T Sector with 23 employees. At the Des Moines Business Record, she was Director of Innovation, was the number one sales producer, and started the lucrative innovationIOWA Magazine, weekly e-newsletter, and yearly awards event.
Katherine has a passion for helping others and is on the board for the West Des Moines Community Foundation, Racoon River Pedestrian Bridge Advisory Council, Cystic Fibroses, City of WDM DR. MLK Jr. Celebration Committee Member, American Heart Association Heart Ball Executive Leadership Committee, and is a Big Brothers Big Sisters ‘I am Enough’ Champion. In 2023 she will co-lead the regional Greater Des Moines Partnership Inclusion Summit.
Past board work includes WDM Historic Valley Junction Commission, President of the board for Ballet Des Moines, South Central Board Chair for the Iowa Governors’ STEM Advisory Council, founding committee for the Blood Sweat & Beers Race, and more.
Between 2022 – 2022, Katherine and the Chamber were honored with the WDM Chamber MLK Jr. Community Organization Leadership Award, The Greater Des Moines Partnership’s Equity Innovation Award, was winner of the Great Outdoors Foundation Most Valuable Philanthropist Award, was awarded with the PRSA Iowa Chapter Iowa Advocate Award, was a Finalist of the Inspiring Women of Iowa Award, and was voted one of the Most Likable by Cityview Magazine.
Katherine lives in beautiful West Des Moines with her husband Craig who is a science teacher at Valley High School. They have three successful children Allie, Kaitlyn, and Nick. She and her daughters have a side gig and podcast called “What the FAM” and can be found wherever you get your podcasts.
Katherine can be reached at 515-689-4447 / katherine@wdmchamber.org
Producer: Northgate Marketing, Inc.
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