Staci Bennett
Executive Director, Des Moines Downtown Chamber of Commerce
January 25, 2021 Dear Members, Thank you for being a Des Moines Downtown Chamber of Commerce member! The Downtown Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce Ms. Staci Bennett as the new executive director effective February 1 st . We are excited to have her leadership and skills to develop the chamber and continue to serve Downtown Chamber members.
On her appointment Staci offers these words: "My passion for Des Moines and its businesses began at an early age. My grandfather was the co-founder of a small business, which my father continued to operate until his recent retirement. I grew up in Des Moines and some of my earliest memories are of visiting job sites downtown with my father after dinner and on weekends. Traversing the skywalks at night was quite an adventure! As an adult, I have continued to enjoy all that downtown has to offer, from seeing touring Broadway shows at Des Moines Performing Arts to catching up with friends at one of our many incredible local restaurants. I consider myself fortunate to live in such a vibrant, ever-developing city.
After graduating from Lincoln High School and Central Academy, I received a bachelor of arts degree in English from Iowa State University. I returned to Des Moines and began working downtown at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines. I worked full-time at ING USA as an internal wholesaler while pursuing my MBA at Drake University and am currently working toward my doctorate in interdisciplinary leadership at Creighton University. In my most recent role as Director of Community Relations at Living History Farms, I managed guest services, membership, events, and retail operations for the museum. My career has been built on developing strong relationships, applying creative solutions to problems, and serving the community. I am grateful for this opportunity to serve with the Downtown Chamber.
As I work with the Board of Directors to develop the strategic plan and set our priorities for the coming year, I want to hear from you. How can we provide the most value to you? How can we continue to help our members and support our community as we navigate through these challenging times? I will be establishing my in-office and virtual office hours soon, but in the meantime, please feel free to reach out to me via email at sbennett@dtchamber.com to share your thoughts or set up a time to meet. " Join us in welcoming Staci to the Downtown Chamber. All the best,
