Welcome and Farewell: ECICOG Leadership Changes

ECICOG welcomed the following new board members in January:

• Doug Boddicker; City of Newhall

• Aaron Sandersfeld; City of Williamsburg

• Steve Dodson; City of Hiawatha

• Nicholas Gluba; City of Lone Tree

• Melanie Bimson; Washington Economic Development Group

• Megan Alter; City of Iowa City

ECICOG would like to thank the following board members whose appointments ended in 2025:

• Mary Audia; Washington Economic Development

• Bruce Visser; City of Atkins

• Chris Hoffman; City of North Liberty

• Chris Nosbisch; City of Mount Vernon

• Nick Herbold; City of University Heights

• Tony Hocamp; Iowa County

We know that serving as an ECICOG board member is one of many hats our members wear, and we are truly grateful for those that share their time and talents with us. The full list of the ECICOG board members can be found at www.ecicog.org/about.

ECICOG will also bid farewell to Executive Director Karen Kurt, who will step down from her position on April 10. During her six-year tenure, ECICOG expanded services, strengthened its financial position and secured and/or managed over $38 million dollars of funding related to the COVID-19 and 2020 derecho disasters.

ECICOG is excited to welcome Ellen Habel as the incoming Executive Director on April 13. Ellen currently serves as the Deputy City Manager for the City of Coralville and has an extensive background in local government, planning and grant management. She even served as an intern for ECICOG at the beginning of her career! Watch for more information from Ellen in the next couple of months.