Laura Graham
Director of Performance & Innovation, City of Des Moines

Laura Graham, Performance & Innovation Manager. Laura Graham is passionate about improving the government experience for the Des Moines community. She currently serves as the City’s Performance & Innovation Manager working to continuously improve processes, build performance management systems, and collaborate with staff and community members to find innovative solutions to some of Des Moines greatest challenges.

She joined the City of Des Moines’ Office of Economic Development in 2008 after the 2008 Flood and managed disaster recovery programs for impacted businesses. In 2010 she became an Assistant to the City Manager, a role which served as a liaison to the City Council and Departments and sustainability coordinator. Prior to her time in local government, Laura worked in both the private and non-profit sectors.

Laura is one of the original co-founders of 6^th Avenue Corridor, a non-profit organization focused on economic revitalization of one of Iowa’s lowest income neighborhoods. She was a 2012 recipient of the Volunteer of the Year Governor’s Main Street Iowa Award and the 2015 Iowa City/County Management Association’s Emerging Leader Award. In 2015, Laura was selected as one of six United States “Leader Mentors” for the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative: Generation EARTH program held in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

She currently serves on the Iowa City/County Management Association Board as President-elect and the United Way of Central Iowa’s OpportUNITY Advisory Council. She has a BA in Spanish and Anthropology from Luther College and an MBA from Iowa State University.