Hometown Opportunity Lets This Harvard Grad “Grow Iowa”
Deb Houghtaling could have lived anywhere. In fact, at the age of 35, she’d already lived in Los Angeles, Boston and Chicago just since graduating from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake. But when the right job opportunity came along, she not only chose to leave the big cities and come home to rural Iowa, she came back to her hometown of Greenfield — population 2,129.
“I had thought of moving back to Iowa, but not necessarily southwest Iowa,” Houghtaling said. “But the job landed me here. I could have had my office anywhere in this region, so I moved back to Greenfield.”
What she brought back with her was more than just small town memories and a desire to live close to her parents again. With a master’s degree from Harvard and hands-on, big-city experience in her field, she brings Iowa a virtual treasure chest of knowledge and skills. And she’s literally applying it to help Iowa grow.
In fact, it’s the name of her organization. Houghtaling is Executive Director of the Grow Iowa Foundation, an organization that provides capital for small business, industrial, manufacturing or affordable housing projects within a 21-county region in southwest Iowa. According to Houghtaling, this type of financing organization is unique in Iowa.
“Grow Iowa was created as a nonprofit organization in 1996 to leverage additional capital to help small towns create opportunities for job creation, entrepreneurship, affordable housing, and community revitalization — to help them grow,’” she explained.
“Basically we work in partnership with banks to provide loans that banks typically wouldn’t finance alone.”
Prior to relocating back to Iowa two years ago, Houghtaling was doing similar work in Chicago. In fact, she had met her predecessor at Grow Iowa at a conference and discussed the possibility of relocating here when she retired. When that time came, her predecessor recommended Houghtaling for the job. The rest is history.
Although she’s now close to her parents, her siblings have left the state and she doesn’t see any of them returning. She thinks Iowa’s reputation as a place to settle is improving, but still needs some work. In fact, when Governor Tom Vilsack rolled out his “come back to Iowa” campaign several years ago, Houghtaling herself didn’t take much notice.
“People told me I’d have more opportunity elsewhere, so I went to Chicago,” Houghtaling said. “They wondered why I would ever consider moving back here.”
Now, Houghtaling admits, there’s obviously a need for adaptation in moving from the big city to rural Iowa, but the adjustment is getting easier as rural communities also reach out to retain and attract residents. Greenfield and communities around western Iowa are noting a shift in newcomers’ and homecomers’ attraction to their areas. And they are starting to respond to the different needs of this population, whether it be new coffeehouses (Greenfield is trying one) and more accessible shopping, or more jobs.
Houghtaling has the insights and ability to help that influence. She’s serving on the board of the Community Vitality Center at Iowa State University, which encourages growth and development in Iowa’s rural areas. She also hopes she can do her part with the Grow Iowa Foundation to make Iowa even more attractive for new or returning residents.
Grow Iowa information and services are available on the Web at www.growiowa.org or by contacting 641.343.7977.
