Late last year, Ryan Peterson joined 39 other leaders from across Iowa who were selected as members of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) Leadership Iowa 2018-19 class. This is a premier statewide issues-awareness program of the ABI foundation, focused on providing participants with an in-depth, firsthand look at important issues facing our state by way of discussion with subject-matter experts, interactive experiences and industry tours.

Ryan and his classmates are visiting the communities of Moravia, Clarinda/Shenandoah, Oskaloosa, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Cedar Falls/Waterloo, Carroll and Ames, finding real value in the communication and connection to the people within the communities. Discussion topics include agriculture/renewable energy, workforce, government, public safety/security, education and economic development. These topics are broken down into the challenging issues of, what defines a good leader, how to leverage business, education and labor, how to grow our economy, how to align the education system to work force needs, and how communities can be more resilient.

“A significant portion of my career has been focused on improving Iowa’s landscape — its natural resources, water quality and open spaces. To be successful in the industry you must be able to see the big picture and balance it with the realities of agriculture and development, and to effectively make real progress, the vision requires innovation, nimbleness, political action and partnerships”- Ryan

With several more months to go before completion of this program – and several more topics to cover, Ryan hopes to use the knowledge gained to build better communities, improve Iowa’s water quality, and expand the State’s current economic status to advance the wellbeing of our citizens.