Staff

Heidi Brown is an Iowa native, graduating from Urbandale high school and the University of Iowa. She holds a Master's degree in Educational Leadership from Morningside College. Heidi spent two years as a substitute teacher in the Des Moines metro before moving on to work in out-of-school time education for the YMCA, the Science Center of Iowa, and most recently Des Moines Public Schools. She joins the Iowa Afterschool Alliance after 16 years with Des Moines Public Schools, coordinating out-of-school time programs and community schools. Heidi enjoys reading, rock 'n' roll, and operates a small pottery business (Good Moon Pottery) in her free time.  

Elva is a California native and was raised in southeast Iowa. After moving to the Des Moines area, she worked for over 10 years at Iowa’s largest public school district as a specialist for the before and afterschool program. She acquired skills in management systems, out-of-school time programming and served as an interpreter for Spanish-speaking families district-wide. As a first-generation Latina, she is passionate about creating accessibility to non-native speakers and understands the need to bridge a language barrier.  

She is currently pursuing her degree at Grand View University in Business Administration.