T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY From left to right, Marshalltown Area United Way Events and Marketing Manager Rachel Norton, Executive Director Kendra Sorensen and Administrative Assistant Haley Carlon pose for a photo inside their headquarters at the Marshalltown Arts and Civic Center (MACC) on Tuesday morning. Once she wraps up her work on Wednesday, Sorensen is departing as the executive director after just over five years in the role.

For the last five years, Kendra Sorensen has given all of herself and then some as the executive director of the Marshalltown Area United Way (MAUW), an organization charged with coordinating annual fundraising efforts for 25 area nonprofits and distributing dollars to help them survive and thrive. Now, she’s stepping away to take on a new role in the private sector with Emerson, but the lessons she’s learned and the connections she’s built during her tenure will stay with her for the rest of her life.

Sorensen, a native of Mount Ayr in southern Iowa who has lived in Marshalltown for the last 27 years, first became aware of United Way as a donor through her previous job as a services coordinator at R.S. Stover Company, and she still remembers the year her boss at the time, Don Turbiville, served as a campaign co-chair.

“He had brought in some individuals from Marshalltown Area United Way, showed the campaign video, and it was very, I would say, just captivating and inspiring, and it really made me want to know more and more and more understanding that there are all of these partner agencies in our community that rely on funding from community donors,” she said.

There was also a personal angle. When she first moved to Marshalltown, Sorensen participated in a program offered through Child, Adolescent and Parent Support (CAPS) — previously known as Child Abuse Prevention Services — tailored to stay-at-home moms.

“It really helped embed me in this community and be connected because I had moved here without family or friends,” she said.

When the executive director position came open in late 2020, a pair of community leaders reached out to her about applying, and R.S. Stover was in the process of a corporate acquisition with Novaspect. Still, she wasn’t completely sold initially, but when a third person suggested she consider the United Way job, she did further research and found that the goals of the organization aligned with her own priorities and values.

As someone who grew up in a working class family herself and recalled her own name being on a Christmas tree for a present to be delivered, Sorensen wanted to help the same types of people in Marshalltown and felt it all came full circle with the opportunity to give back to a community that had given so much to her. The transition from working in the corporate world to a small nonprofit was striking — the MAUW currently has two full-time staffers and a part-time administrative assistant — and she quickly learned to wear many hats and handle a wide variety of challenges.

“The one thing that I brought with me from my corporate job to here was just some of my leadership values that I had. I’ve always had a very open door policy. I fully believe that I’m not the only one who runs this organization. Yes, my title is executive director, but it takes a team of all of us, even outside of staff,” she said. “It’s also our community members that live here, so it’s a joint partnership, and (I was) really wanting to make sure that I led the organization with that mental mindset. This is a partnership. We’re all in it together.”

A sticky note on her desk has always guided her leadership philosophy: organize, prioritize and implement. Sorensen started early in 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic was still raging and worked to digitize as many processes as possible, and she also sought to cross-train her staff to allow for maximum efficiency and the ability to take time off from their jobs. Some of the initial goals she set have been achieved, Sorensen said, but others will be advanced under new leadership after she wraps up her work with the MAUW on Wednesday.

From the early days of sitting in on allocation meetings in January of 2021 — after which, she drove home “bawling” — Sorensen said the experience was “eye opening” as she learned about the work the partner agencies perform in the community and how they improve lives in Marshall County.

“I’ve also had the opportunity, obviously, to go to some of the agencies and speak with some of the clients through some of our campaign videos, and getting to hear real-life testimonials and getting to tour the facilities and volunteering at some of the organizations,” she said. “There’s just so much that I feel like we really do take for granted, and the leaders, the staff behind these partner agencies. They’re the most important component out there because it takes people to run programs, and they all do it with so much effort and tirelessly. I think that it’s hard to recognize that a lot of individuals in nonprofit leadership, they’re available around the clock. They’re always on.”

Each year, MAUW leadership chooses two community members to co-chair the fundraising campaign, and Sorensen has enjoyed the unique experience of getting to know them — Capt. Sadie Weekley of the Marshalltown Police Department and Emma Michels of CAPS are serving as the 2026-2027 co-chairs. Some highlights that stick out in her memory include the famous (or infamous) Main Street “Speedo Run” with KFJB Radio’s Kyle Martin in January of 2024, the tie that Sorensen cut as an indicator of progress toward the ultimate goal for the 2024-2025 campaign, and the Traveling Toilets idea presented by 2025-2026 Co-Chair Maria Gonzalez-Alvarez, which garnered statewide and national media coverage.

“Honestly, it’s working with people. This job is very much people oriented, and so having the opportunity, not just with the campaign co-chairs, but additionally with our campaign cabinet members leading down to our partner agencies to our board of directors to our volunteers, it’s been amazing,” Sorensen said. “And getting to work with businesses, whether it’s their president/CEO or other staff members, it’s an overarching (thing) where you really get to be collaborative with all within the community and grow alongside them. So I think that’s what makes the experience, honestly, the most special and unique is those relationships that you build.”

In her new role, Sorensen will serve as an internal project manager at Emerson’s Governor Road facility with an eye on manufacturing processes, but as she told the T-R on Monday, leaving the United Way and her small team — Events and Marketing Manager Rachel Norton and Administrative Assistant Haley Carlon, who is Sorensen’s daughter-in-law — has not been easy.

“We’ve cried a lot. I will carry everything that I’ve learned from this job with me. Marshalltown Area United Way is near and dear to my heart. It always will be. I’ll just be participating from a different platform. Instead of leading the charge, I will be there assisting with the charge,” Sorensen said. “So I fully plan on being there for events as my schedule allows (and) potentially even being on some of the committees.”

Norton, who has served as events and marketing manager for a little over a year now, reflected on what it meant to work with Sorensen.

“Over the past year, Kendra has been far more than a supervisor to me — she has been a mentor, trusted advisor, and genuine friend. Her leadership has shaped me into a stronger young professional and a better person. She leads with integrity, compassion, and a deep commitment to the mission of Marshalltown Area United Way,” Norton said. “Her impact reaches beyond our team to the many partners and community members we serve across Marshall County. She has a remarkable ability to bring people together around a shared purpose and keep the focus on what matters most: our community. While she may be stepping away from MAUW, I have no doubt she will continue to champion our work and support the people we serve.”

Carlon expressed a similar sentiment in a statement shared with the T-R.

“Kendra isn’t just my mother-in-law — she’s one of the most driven and compassionate leaders I’ve ever known. Getting to work alongside her at Marshalltown Area United Way has been such a gift. She pours her whole heart into this community and into the people around her, and she leads with both strength and humility,” she said. “I’ve seen firsthand the long hours, the tough decisions, and the deep care she carries for our partner agencies and families in Marshall County. While it will be different not seeing her in the executive director’s office every day, I know she’ll continue to make an impact wherever she goes — and I’m so proud of the example she’s set for me, both professionally and personally.”

For Sorensen, who always sought out to be the president/CEO of an organization, MAUW has helped her grow as a person and lead through what she called one of the best experiences of her entire life. But with three young granddaughters living in Marshalltown, she decided it was time for something new.

“It’s just a season of change for me, and with that, then, a pivot within a career. Hopefully, I left a lasting imprint within our community, and my biggest hope right now is that the next executive director that’s identified is gonna lead with that same type of passion and desire and really want to carry our efforts forward from where I left off, and leaving behind an absolutely incredible, capable team of two,” Sorensen said.

Norton will serve as the interim executive director until a permanent replacement is formally announced and can be contacted via email at marcom@unitedwaymarshalltown.org. The MAUW is located inside the Marshalltown Arts and Civic Center (MACC) at 709 S. Center St. and can be reached at (641) 752-4688.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.