James Olson received his law degree from the University of Iowa. He served for over thirty years in the clandestine service of the Central Intelligence Agency, mostly overseas conducting clandestine operations behind enemy lines. In addition to several foreign assignments, he held the title of Chief of Counterintelligence at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Jim is also a professor at Texas A&M's Bush School of Government and Public Service, teaching classes on intelligence, counterintelligence, national security, counter-terrorism, and international crisis management. Jim has been awarded the Intelligence Medal of Merit, the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the Donovan Award, and several distinguished service citations. On top of that he is the author of 'Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying' and 'To Catch a Spy: The Art Of Counterintelligence'. His books are commonly used within the recruiting and training curriculum of the CIA today.

Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks has represented Iowa's 1st Congressional District since 2021. At 18, congresswoman Miller-Meeks enlisted in the army, serving 24 years as a nurse and doctor. A first-generation college student, Miller-Meeks earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from Texas Christian University. She earned her Master's in education from the University of Southern California, and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Texas at Houston. Miller-Meeks won her seat in 2020 by a margin of only 6 votes. Marking one of the closest congressional races in United States history - after 3 unsuccessful campaign attempts. Miller-Meeks serves on numerous committees and subcommittees where she draws on her history in healthcare and is an active proponent for veteran and healthcare policies for the state of Iowa and the United States.

Eric Engelmann started his college career at Iowa State University before transferring to The University of Iowa where he received his bachelor's in economics from the Tippie College of Business. After a short stint as a software engineer out of college Eric founded his company Geometric. Eventually, Eric decided to go from operator to investor and founded ISA Ventures. ISA Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm in Cedar Rapids, Iowa that looks to back innovative founders and their companies. Eric has invested in more than 40 companies through the Iowa Startup Accelerator Fund and is an active mentor and advisor around the state and region.

Grace Lynn Keller is a graduate of the University of Iowa with a degree in journalism and mass communications. Grace is currently the crown holder for Miss Iowa USA 2023. She is also the Vice President of a media, marketing, and production company where she helps clients from around the world find their voice, tell their stories, and develop their brand. Her company, Executive Podcast Solutions, produces and oversees over 50 podcasts, YouTube shows, and Social Media and influencer marketing campaigns around the world. Grace is also a huge bookworm and traces her desire to study journalism and her success in the business world back to discovering her love of literature at a young age. This led to the creation of her platform, Read To Succeed. To date, she's traveled over 30,000 miles and worked with over 5,000 students across multiple states, presenting literacy programming for kids in rural and low-income communities. Her goal is to inspire students to understand the importance of strong literacy skills and how to use those skills as a springboard to discover their own passions and purposes.

Mark Kaufman is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Athletico Physical Therapy a leading provider of outpatient physical and occupational therapy. Athletico offers the highest quality orthopedic rehabilitation services to communities, employers, and athletes in over 950 locations throughout 25 states and the District of Columbia. He attended the University of Iowa, receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in Athletic Training and Physical Education in 1986. In 1988, Kaufman obtained an M.S. in Exercise and Sports Sciences from the University of Arizona, and in 1989 he earned his B.S. in Physical Therapy from Northwestern University. Athletico employs over 9000 clinical and administrative staff and offers over 50 specialty programs and services. The growth of Athletico’s outreach programs has mirrored the advancement of their patient care. Athletico remains very much a close-knit, caring place to work, where a strong work ethic, commitment to continuing education, and dedication to superior customer service and community service are highly valued.

Steve Davis received his bachelor’s in 2001 and his Masters in 2003 from The University of Iowa. Steve developed a groundbreaking software program for his master's thesis that served as the foundation and founding of his company, Bio::Neos. Bio::Neos works to enable advanced life sciences research by working as scientific technology architects to create custom platforms for their customers in biotechnology, life sciences, and more. Before Steve was developing innovative software solutions he was a student at the University of Iowa, a varsity athlete on the men’s gymnastics team, and worked actively in the College of Engineering’s coordinated laboratory for computational genomics. Steve still resides in the Iowa City area and comes back to the university frequently to help and advise entrepreneurial students on their ideas and projects.

Episode 3 I sit down with Matt Swift! Matt is a native Iowan and grew up in the hospitality industry working with his mother. he attended the University of Iowa but left early to follow her into the restaurant business. He has opened and operated over 15 projects in Iowa including, Big Grove Brewery, St. Burch Tavern, Red's Alehouse, 30Hop, Pullman's, Tribute, and many more! These hospitality projects focus on more than great food and drink - they focus on creating community and bringing people together. With high-end architecture, great food, and warm atmospheres, the projects aim to create a strong sense of place. These projects have helped foster both the business atmosphere and culture of each of the neighborhoods in which they are located. Matt was awarded the 2018 Corridor Business Journal (CBJ) Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the 2019 Junior Achievements Business Hall of Fame Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. Matt lives in his hometown of Iowa City on the Iowa River with his wife, Cayla, and their two children.

On Today's Episode, we sit down with Steve Grubbs. Steve graduated from the University of Iowa with an undergraduate degree in finance. After graduating Steve jumped into presidential campaigns where he ran Bob Dole's Iowa Campaign before returning to school. While getting his law degree Steve started his campaign for state representative. Eventually, he won and served from 1990 to 1996 where four of those years were spent as chairman of the House Education Committee where he authored the state's first education technology bill. Nowadays Steve spends his time innovating and changing the future of education and education technology with his company VictoryXR. Founded in 2016, VictoryXR looks to introduce innovative ways for students to learn through virtual and augmented reality. Since the company's founding, online education has rapidly expanded around the country and the world. Steve and his team at VictoryXR offer immersive classrooms and campuses through virtual reality and are working to shape the future for students learning online and in the metaverse.

Amanda Boleyn graduated from Iowa in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in finance. After graduating, Amanda jumped into the corporate world by working with Target as an Executive Team Leader before joining Wells Fargo for a short time. Following her entrepreneurial spirit, Amanda decided to leave all that behind and take the entrepreneurial leap into running her own business as a sales coach and trainer. Shortly after that, Amanda started the She Did It Her Way podcast in 2015 and amassed an enormous following and millions of downloads from around the world. The She Did It Her Way podcast became a world-renowned show and was featured in Forbes, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur.com, and other top media platforms as one of the top podcasts for women and business. Amanda decided to shut down The She Did It Her Way podcast in 2021 after 7 years and almost 500 episodes. Nowadays Amanda is working on her new entrepreneurial project, Attention Audit, which aims to help customers streamline their productivity and accomplish their goals.