Jean Kresse was assigned as planner of operations to write grants and track clients for Operation New View, a community action agency in Dubuque, Iowa, just out of college. She soon found herself in charge of fundraising for the entire agency.

Her success in bringing resources to New View led to a position as development director for Youth and Shelter Services, Inc., of Ames, Iowa. Over the next 10 years, Jean not only wrote and secured many state, federal and private grants she was instrumental in several major endowment, annual and capital campaigns for the organization, including a $2.6 million building renovation drive.

She knew she was in the right business when a donor thanked her for enabling him to make a gift, a phenomenon that has happened to her many times since.

Jean understands what it takes to balance multiple responsibilities in one-person shops. Currently, as development director for the Ames Community School District, she seeks private support for district activities, facilities and curriculum development. She also provides consulting support to the Ames Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization, which strives to meet the growing needs of public schools.

She is extensively versed in the development of public-private enterprises. For the school district, she led the charge to secure city financial support for an eight-court tennis complex. For Hartsook Companies that means orchestrating collaborations like the one between the City of Boone and Boone County Family Resource Center in developing a child care and adult day care facility.

As a senior vice president of Hartsook Companies, Jean has provided counsel to diverse human services and educational organizations, including The Salvation Army of Iowa City, The Salvation Army of Minnesota, Midland Hospice, the YWCA of Sioux Falls, the YWCA of Fargo-Moorhead, Boone County Family Resource Center, STAR International, Angel Flight America and the Science Center of Iowa.

She is also one of the firm's resident experts in grantwriting. Hartsook Companies consultants frequently call on Jean to provide training and technical advice to clients needing assistance in this important aspect of a comprehensive development program.

As Jean points out, "When you truly have a program that fits a funder's interest, the reward from a simple proposal can be hundreds of thousands of dollars. You can have the Taj Mahal of buildings, but if you don't have funding for programs, it's all for naught."

One of the first women members of the Ames Noon Rotary, Jean holds a bachelor's degree in public relations from the University of Northern Iowa – Cedar Falls, and an associate of arts degree in journalism and marketing.

She and her husband, Marion, have a son, William, and a daughter, Emily.