Ignite the Future Lead the Change Rally – October 11th

Jess Piper, Event Speaker

Executive Director, Blue Missouri

Jess is a fierce advocate for rural communities and public schools. She was an American Literature teacher for 16 years, and decided to run for the House in Missouri in 2022. Although she lost the race, she continues her activism and is the Executive Director of Blue Missouri. She is also the author of the Substack “The View from Rural Missouri.”

Laura Belin, Event Speaker

Author & Journalist, Bleeding Heartland

Laura Belin is the publisher, editor, and primary reporter for Bleeding Heartland, a community website focused on Iowa politics. She is also the Statehouse reporter for KHOI Radio in Ames and co-host of the station’s “Capitol Week” program, as well as a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. You can receive her original reporting and commentary through the Evening Heartland newsletter and links to her radio programs and what she’s been writing on her Substack – “Iowa politics with Laura Belin”.

Catelin Drey, Event Speaker

State Senator, Iowa Senate District 1

Catelin Drey is the newest elected state senator from Iowa’s first district.  In an August 2025 special election, she flipped a republican seat blue which also broke the Iowa Republicans’ super majority in the chamber.  Drey brings a young mom’s perspective to Des Moines, where she’s committed to putting working families back at the forefront of Iowa politics after years of Republican policy failures that have made it increasingly difficult for parents to raise their kids in the state.

Prior to running for state senate, Drey founded Moms for Iowa in 2023.  Moms for Iowa is a grassroots public policy initiative to help Iowa parents engage with their legislators.

Jennifer Pellant, Event Speaker

President & Field Coordinator, Western Iowa Labor Federation

Jen Pellant is the President of the Western Iowa Labor Federation, an organization which serves 35 affiliate unions and thousands of Western Iowa workers.

She grew up in Western Iowa, in a union home. Jen returned to Iowa and began her organizing work in 2018 after her sister, also a union teacher, became one of thousands of Iowa public workers who lost their collective bargaining rights.  Prior to returning to Iowa, Jen spent 20 years in Chicago, working in the hospitality and heavy construction industries – two industries that are notorious for union-busting and the exploitation of undocumented workers.

Jen is a member of CWA Local 7103. She has also been a member of AFT Local 716. She is a current member of the Iowa Federation of Labor (IFL) Executive Board and the Labor Advisory Committee of the University of Iowa Labor Center.

Anne Kinzel, Event MC

Citizen Activist

Anne Kinzel is an independent specialist in law and policy. Since 1988, Ms. Kinzel has been involved in healthcare as a hospital general counsel, a public health policy specialist, and a researcher and advocate for healthcare reform. She has taught healthcare law and policy to medical and allied health students in California, Iowa, and worldwide via the Internet.  

Through her research and legal efforts, Ms. Kinzel has shaped healthcare access policy in Iowa and California. She authored four key studies on healthcare access in Iowa and has delivered numerous presentations to policymakers and the public on  healthcare access, the economic impact of rising healthcare costs, and the current state of the U.S. healthcare system. Ms. Kinzel served as the lead amicus counsel representing all 58 California counties in a successful case before the California Supreme Court that upheld the lien rights of public hospitals (City and County of San Francisco v. Sweet (1995) 12 Cal. 4th 105, 117).  

Ms. Kinzel has broadened her interests to include agricultural and conservation research efforts.  Currently, she serves as the deputy director of the RegenPGC project at Iowa State University.