Women Helping Women
28th Annual Women Helping Women Luncheon
Friday, May 15, 2026
Networking 11:00 – 11:30 AM | Program 11:30 – 1:00 PM
Meadows Events Center at Prairie Meadows
Join Us in Honoring 28 Years of Impact!
Since 1999, this event has raised over $2.7 million to transform lives in our community!
Women Helping Women is the Center’s annual luncheon that supports counseling, education, training, and other essential services for women, children, and families who are uninsured, underinsured, or from low-income households. This inspiring event uplifts our community while raising critical funds to ensure mental health care remains accessible to all who need it.
This year’s Women Helping Women explores the many ways we experience loss—and how creativity, connection, and compassion can help us heal and reimagine what comes next.
By participating, you become part of a community committed to fostering hope and healing. Together, we can create lasting change and empower those who need it most. Join us as we work toward a brighter future for Iowa’s women, children, and families.
2026 Women Helping Women Honoree & Speaker
Suzanna de Baca
Women Helping Women 2026
Honoree
Meet Suzanna
HONOREE
Suzanna de Baca is an accomplished CEO, board director and thought leader whose career has been defined by building strong organizations, advancing human-centered leadership and championing holistic health
As CEO of Story Board Advisors, Suzanna partners with CEOs, boards, and family enterprises to define vision, navigate complexity and build resilient, high-performing organizations grounded in purpose, trust, and human connection.
Suzanna brings more than three decades of executive leadership experience across media, healthcare, financial services, and governance. She previously served as President and CEO of Business Publications Corporation, leading the award-winning media company to national recognition three times as a Top Ten Publisher to Watch by Editor & Publisher. She also served as CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and held senior leadership roles at Neuberger Berman, Weiss Peck and Greer, Bank of America Private Bank, and Ameriprise Financial.
Her insights have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, USA Today, Forbes, MSNBC, Inc., CEO Magazine, and Directorship Magazine. She was named one of the Top 50 Women in Media for 2024 and 2025 by Women We Admire and was featured in the bestselling book The Courage to Advance.
A longtime advocate for health equity and mental health, Suzanna is deeply committed to advancing psychologically healthy workplaces and communities. Much of her writing, speaking, and leadership work centers on strengthening resilience, reducing stigma, and expanding access to compassionate, high-quality health services. Suzanna is also an artist and poet whose work has appeared widely in national and international literary publications.
She serves on multiple corporate and nonprofit boards, is a NACD Certified Director, an International Coaching Federation Certified Coach, and a faculty member at Iowa State University’s Ivy College of Business. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Iowa State University.
Amy Putney Koenig
Women Helping Women 2026
Speaker
Meet Amy
SPEAKER
Amy Putney Koenig is a multidisciplinary artist whose work brings beauty to brokenness. Through large-scale murals, acrylic paintings, and collage made with antique ephemera, she invites the viewer to tune into the light, magic and essence within themselves.
Drawing on her personal experiences as a survivor of addiction, intergenerational family trauma and her work as a Death Doula, Putney Koenig uses her art to prompt conversations around difficult topics and promote community-centered healing. Her creative mission is to honor “the joys in life and the moments that bring us to our knees.”
Known for a distinctive illustrative style inspired by iconography and folk art, Putney Koenig’s public art pieces incorporate vibrant colors and positive messaging. Her more intimate artworks explore the natural world and the mystical unknown. Putney Koenig has presented solo exhibits and organized group exhibits themed around the duality of life and death, addiction and recovery, self-doubt and self-love.
Born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, Putney Koenig studied fiber art, painting, and computer art at Iowa State University. She graduated in 1992 with a BFA in Fine Art + Visual Studies. Working as a professional artist and Art Director in her 30-year career with Sticks Object Art and Furniture, Putney Koenig’s playful illustrations helped the brand gain national recognition. She enhanced custom, heirloom furniture pieces for private clients, galleries, and public spaces across the United States.
In 2024, with support from an Iowa Arts Council project grant, Putney Koenig published “Shapeshifter: The Art of Family Tragedy and How to Be Amazing Anyway.” Part memoir, part artistic workbook, Shapeshifter connects readers to the embodied process of art making.
She continues to create from her studio in the Drake Neighborhood and offers donation-based Death Doula services. amyputneykoenigart.com
Photo: Ivory House Photography
Our 2026 Women Helping Women Moderator
We are honored to welcome Mollie Cooney—respected retired journalist and a trusted voice in our community—as the moderator for this year’s Women Helping Women program.
Mollie will guide a thoughtful conversation exploring the deeply human experiences of grief and loss, creating space for reflection, connection and compassion.
More than a program, this is an opportunity to gather, feel seen and remember that none of us are alone in what we carry.
Mollie Cooney
Women Helping Women 2026
Moderator
Meet Mollie
MODERATOR
Mollie Cooney was the first woman hired as a news reporter/anchor in the KCCI newsroom in 1976 when women on air were rare. In 1979 she left for KNTV-TV in San Jose, California. In 1982 she rejoined KCCI where she covered everything from the courts to crime, politics, education and health, as well as anchoring the noon news until retiring in 2017.
In November of 1997, Mollie got the first exclusive global interview with Bobbi and Kenny McCaughey of Carlisle, parents of the world’s only surviving septuplets. She followed the family and featured them as they grew from toddlers to teenagers until they graduated from high school.
In 2009, she created the series ‘In the Artist’s Studio’ and for the next several years featured more than 200 local artists. For her efforts in recognizing the importance of the arts, she received the Doug Brown Media award as part of the Ames Community Arts Council 2011 Art Awards.
Mollie covered countless presidential caucuses and local elections; co-hosted numerous telethons including the Children’s Miracle Network for the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and the annual KCCI Blood Donor Day for more than 30 years.
She has won numerous awards throughout the years and in 1994 received the James Schwartz Award for Distinguished Service to Journalism from Iowa State University.
In 2004, she was selected as the recipient of the Iowa Association of Family and Consumer Sciences “Friend of the Family” award.
Mollie and her husband, retired KCCI anchor/reporter Kevin Cooney, each received the Silver Circle Award in 2014, given by the National Television Academy to those journalists who have contributed to the field of journalism and to their community for more than 25 years.
Mollie was born in Clarinda, Iowa and grew up in Des Moines. She is a graduate of Roosevelt High School and Iowa State University. She and her husband have 3 grown children and 4 grandchildren.
2027 Sponsor Details Coming Soon!
Sponsorship opportunities for Women Helping Women are still available. This annual event supports Mind & Spirit Counseling Center’s mission to ensure no one is turned away from mental health care due to insurance status or financial circumstances. As a sponsor, you play a vital role in expanding access to counseling and education for women, children, and families facing financial barriers—helping strengthen the well-being of our entire community.
Be Our Guest—Tickets Sales are Closed!
Individual tickets for Women Helping Women are now available, and we invite you to join us for an inspiring and impactful event. Gather with community members for a meaningful program supporting accessible mental health care. Whether you’re attending for the first time or returning as a longtime supporter, we would be honored to host you. Reserve your spot by Friday, May 1 and be part of this special day.
Thank you to our current 2026 sponsors and donors for supporting our 28th Annual Women Helping Women luncheon!
Presenting Sponsor | $10,000
Sally Wallace
Leadership Sponsors | $5,000
Carol Bodensteiner, in honor of Jeriann Ritter
Rusty Hubbell
La Donna Matthes
Terri Vaughan, in honor of Suzanna de Baca
Susan and Carl Voss, in honor of Suzanna de Baca
Michele and Steve Whitty
Kathi Zimpleman
Media Sponsor
Supporting Sponsors | $2,500
Pamela Bass-Bookey
Body Wisdom Massage Therapy School
Cultivating Compassion: The Dr. Richard Deming Foundation
Jann Freed and John Fisher
Foster Group
Gateway Market and Cafe
Mary Gottschalk, in honor of Suzanna de Baca
Charlotte and Fred Hubbell
Iowa Radiology
Shirley Poertner
Polk County Board of Supervisors
Prairie Meadows
Rachel Stauffer
Stivers Ford Lincoln
Wells Fargo Advisors
Connie Wimer
Sally Wood
Floral Sponsor
Boesen the Florist
Table Hosts | $1,500
Susan Ackelson
Barbara Beatty
Broadlawns Medical Center
Carrier Access, Inc.
Central Presbyterian Church
Roxanne Barton Conlin
Suzanna de Baca
Delta Dental of Iowa
Des Moines University
Amy Doyle
Fredrikson & Byron, P.A.
Judy Akre Heseman
Debbie Hubbell
Hubbell Realty
Trudy Holman Hurd
Claudette and P.J. McDonald
Navigate Wellbeing Solutions
D.J. Newlin
Tom Polking
Mary M. Riche
Kay Riley
Linda Rullan
Sticks Inc. & Rachel Eubank, in honor of Amy Putney Koenig
Karen Stuyvesant
Eric and Niki Swanson
Kim and Rich Willis
Zanzibar’s Coffee Adventure
Special Friends – $1,000
Connie Beasley
Joan Betts
Childserve
Christine Coons
Nora and Dave Everett
Kathy Fehrman
Jim and Sarah Hayes
Leslie Heimbach
Starr Hinrichs
Ann and Tom Holme
Joanie Houston
Kate Juelfs
Melissa Ness and Cynde Cronin
Pauline and William Niebur
Cynthia O’Brien
Jill Oman
Lynsey Oster
Leigh OTool, in memory of Terri Henkels
Katie Patton
Sharon and James Rasmussen
Jackie Saunders, in memory of Gail Stilwill
Susan Moritz Scharnberg
Karen Shaff and Steve Jayne
Rebecca Shaw
Heather Stuyvesant, in honor of Amy Putney Koenig
Sarah Sullivan and Nicholas Bigelow
Leader Plus – $500
Stephanie Asklof
Brooke Benschoter, in honor of Roberta Yoder
Sandy Benson Johnson/Benson Family Foundation, in memory of Evelyn Adams Benson
Margo Blumenthal, in honor of Suzanna de Baca
Suzan Kelsey Brooks
Alicia and David Claypool
Concepts Cares
Rachel Degen, in honor of Amy Putney Koenig
Sondra Eddings
Kevin Frey
Shayla From
Diane Glass and Jeff Means, in honor of Eileen Burtle
Barbara L. Hein
Norma Hirsch
Laura and Roger Jacobsen
Linda Jennings
Anne M. Kelly
Mary Kramer, in memory of Lee Miller
Nancy Main
Cyril Mandelbaum
Lorraine May
Andy McGuire
Cathy McMullen and Don Worrell
Reo Menning
Jeanne O’Halloran
Donna L. Paulsen and Tom E. Press
Allison Peet
Judge Artis Reis
Susy Robinette
Brenda and Jaey Sedlacek
Jackie Seibert
Terri Mork Speirs
Mary Stuart
Char Vukovich
Linda Weidmaier
Meg and Patrick Whitty
Dee Willemsen
Judy Winkelpleck
Roberta and Reg Yoder
Leaders – $250
Nancy Adrianse
Becky Anthony, in honor of Jeriann Ritter
Mary Ann Beard
Carrie Bening, in memory of Linda Vernon Jones
Kristen Benge
Connie Boesen
Nancy Bone
Darca Boom
Rachel Bruns
Marilyn Carroll
Mollie Cooney
Teresa Dayton
Christine Dietz, in memory of Isabel Dietz
Kelly Edmister
Karen Engman
Denise Essman, in memory of Allen Essman
Peggy Fisher
Jamie and Julie Fitzgerald
Ann Flood, in honor of Karla and Mark Minear
Robin Fortney, in memory of Lisa Woodson Baughman
Sandra Githens
Linda Goeldner
Sharon Goldford, in honor of Suzanna de Baca
Kimberly Graham, in honor of Rebecca Shaw
Bonnie Green
Courtney Greene, in honor of Jeriann Ritter
Happy at Home Consulting
Jan Hardin
Victoria L. Herring
Audra Hiebert
Jennifer Keen Hilmes
Dixie Hoekman
Dr. Alexandra Hubbell
Connie Isaacson, in honor of Suzanna de Baca
Joanne Johnson
Maureen Keehnle
Mary K. Kelly
Mary F. Kunkel
Christine Lewis
Robbie G. Malm
Mary Lee Madison, in honor of Kimberly & Nia Madison
Sally Pederson
Susan Pogge
Susan Vujnovich McRoberts
The Middleton Family
Wilma Richards
Helen Robinson
Jackie Romp
Mary Boote Roth
Pam Schoffner, in honor of Shirley Poertner
Kendra D. Simmons
Kimberly Shadur
Sheila Starkovich Lingwall
Ellen Strachota
Cheryl Sypal
Joyce and Harold Templeman
Marsha Ternus
Karent Unrau
Elaine Van Dyck
Marti Wade
Deb Wiley and John Schmidt, in honor of Mary Riche
Jean Williams
Emily Williams-Bouska, in honor of Suzanna de Baca
Eleanor Zeff
Young Leaders – $125
Mary Helen Grace and David Grace
Sarah Heuertz
Jenna Knox, in honor of Suzanna de Baca
Emily and Maeve Webb
Ali Markis
All updates as of 5/14/26
Thank you to our supportive Committee & Underwriting Cabinet Members!
2026 Planning Committee
Kinzy Gillespie, Co-Chair
Susannah Lautensleger, Co-Chair
Amy Cownie
Audra Hiebert
Starr Hinrichs
Cate Holec
Kelly Isaacson
Sydney Marshman
Mary McCarthy
Leigh OTool
Shirley Poertner
Connie Wilson
2026 Underwriting Cabinet
Carol Bodensteiner
Amy Doyle
Jamie Fitzgerald
Jann Freed
Claudette McDonald
Tom Polking
Laurie Betts Sloterdyk
Sarah Sullivan
Susan Voss
Michele Whitty
Your Gift Creates Change in Our Community
If the opportunities listed above do not align with your interests or availability, we invite you to contribute in another way. Your gift will make a meaningful difference in advancing the mission of Women Helping Women.
For more information, contact the Community Relations Team today at:
Office: 515.274.4006 | Email: whw@mindspiritcenter.org
