2024 Forty Under 40 Alum of the Year: Mary Sellers

Early in her career, organizations from five communities across the country began recruiting Mary Sellers, who was emerging as a nonprofit leader in her native state of Florida. Initially, coming to Des Moines was No. 5 on her list. That is until she came here – and then the kindness of the people made her move Iowa’s ranking to No. 1. 

“When I first came up and met with the people, that’s when Iowa went to [No. 1.],” Sellers said.

But days into moving here to become the president and CEO of the Science Center of Iowa in March of 1998, three tornadoes converged over Interstate 80 and it snowed two days later. She and her husband, who was from Orlando, almost drove back to Florida. But instead, she stayed to lead the nonprofit for a decade. In that time, she orchestrated a $63 million capital campaign to fund the new facility where the Science Center is today. 

Just three years into her tenure in Des Moines, she was named to the Business Record’s 2001 Forty Under 40 class. This year, her fellow Forty Under 40 alumni voted to name her as the Forty Under 40 Alum of the Year.

Sellers currently serves as president of the United Way of Central Iowa, her second stint leading the local arm of the global nonprofit powerhouse. She previously led the organization from 2012 to 2017 before she was recruited to lead as the United States president of United Way Worldwide. There, she led the U.S. network of 1,400 local United Ways, and she was responsible for $3.5 billion in fundraising revenue annually. 

She holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations from the University of Florida and an MBA from the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business. Sellers was named as one of the Business Record’s Women of Influence in 2014. In 2019, she was named to the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Hall of Fame.

We sat down with Sellers to talk about lessons she’s learned in her career and life.

The following Q&A has been edited and condensed for clarity and brevity. 

You said that your mom inspired you to get into nonprofit work. I was hoping you could tell me a little bit more about that.

I tell people that my first volunteer experience was when I was in a crib because she would bring me with her. My entire childhood was volunteering, with my mom or separately. That’s what led me into nonprofit as a career is that exposure to not only the needs but the opportunities.

She was involved in everything. She was in a hospital auxiliary. She was president of the hospital foundation. She was involved in the art center. She was involved in my schools. There are so many things that she was involved in.

Do you think that’s why the United Way appeals to you so much, because of the broad reach?

I do because she seemed to see need and opportunity everywhere she went. I do think that, being at United Way, the breadth and depth of our work goes back to what I learned growing up going from place to place with my mother. 

When you started your career, is there anything that you wish you had known at that time?

There’d be two things actually. One is: Be authentic, be yourself. You don’t have to pretend to be somebody else. It’s too much effort. That means showing up as you are, whether you’re at work or you’re at home, or you’re on vacation – you don’t change based on the environment you are in.

The other thing would be that in order to go far you need to go together. In the beginning of my career, I thought, “I’ve got to prove myself.” I learned very quickly that’s not how you move forward and have sustainability in what you’re doing.

Tell me about taking the national position with United Way. 

When I was approached about it, it was a time when the system really needed to come together. It was, like any big shift, exhilarating and daunting, but I really had a lot of life learnings. In that role and a lot of life experiences in that role. A contingency of me taking it was not leaving Des Moines, so I never moved away from Des Moines, which was a key piece for me. 

How did the work serving the local United Way help you in that role?

This United Way has always been a top-performing United Way in the country. Some of the things that we implemented here, I could share with other local United Ways that maybe they weren’t implementing. I think the other piece that I could share in communities across the country is the collaboration that it took for us to see community change that isn’t always present in other communities, but as a key component of how you truly make sustainable change.

Some of those honored as Forties are early in their careers, while others are right in the middle of their careers. What kind of advice do you have for the mid-career folks on how they can plan the impact they make? 

I have a mantra that has led me through my career, which is I wanted to work with others to make impact bigger than I could by myself. I didn’t aspire to be CEO of the Science Center, and I didn’t aspire to be U.S. president of United Way Worldwide. I didn’t aspire to have other roles. It was really how I could fulfill my mantra of working with others to make impact bigger than I could on my own. That was my guiding post. It wasn’t seeking a title or seeking rungs. It was really seeking what fed my soul.

Tell me a little bit about what you’ve learned as a leader in your various roles.

In my mind, leadership is about removing obstacles and barriers for the team you’re leading. All roles in the organization are critical. I would also say that leadership isn’t about you as the individual. It’s about the role you play.

Is there anything in particular that excites you about what you’re seeing from the folks that are the up-and-coming leaders in the community?

I think they’re concerned beyond jobs. They want to live a fulfilled life. Past generations were very focused on career, so I’m very encouraged that the next generations are very focused on a much broader set of metrics that will determine success in their life that isn’t one dimensional. 

When people think of leaders they think of all the great things that they have done, but leaders, like anyone, make mistakes. What times in your career have you felt like you either made a mistake or were faced with a challenge, and what did you learn from that?

Early on, when I was at the Science Center, I wanted to race down a path, and then I turned around and no one was there. So that’s been a key and almost constant piece of my consciousness even today. It’s impossible to go forward alone. You have to go forward together.

What does that look like in terms of building consensus or getting people on board to go forward with you?

When someone asks me what my vision is, I always say I don’t have one. It’s not my vision to have. It’s a collective vision that needs to be built. Leadership means being in a facilitator mode, and not needing to have all the answers, but asking the right questions. It’s getting many voices together, not necessarily to get to the decision now, but getting to the right decision for all.

What would you say have been some of the biggest things that have challenged you during your career?

I would say that the biggest thing that challenged me during my career isn’t necessarily a day-to-day work thing, but having to be there when an employee chose to go into hospice and the family could not go with her from the hospital to hospice. Stepping in to do that was the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do. So probably a nontraditional answer, but when you ask the question, that’s the answer that comes to mind. 

Another challenging piece, bringing the community together to build the Science Center was a heavy lift. It was $63 million, and at the time, was the largest single cultural capital project that the state’s ever undertaken, while being fairly new to the community. It was massive amounts of community input into what they wanted to see and what they wanted to experience. 

On the flip side of challenges, what have been some of the most exciting things you’ve gotten to do in your career?

When I was at Orlando Science Center before I came to the Science Center of Iowa, the president gave me unlimited opportunity to grow professionally. It was because of her that I was able to come to Iowa. What I’m most proud of is that I’ve had 18 direct reports that have gone on to lead their own nonprofits. 

What’s something people might not know about you? 

I love ’80s rap. When people hear the music I’m playing in my car when I pull up, they’re kind of surprised by that.  I love “Jam on Revenge” by Newcleus. 

Do you have a favorite place you’ve traveled to?

I go to Florida quite often where I grew up, in Vero Beach. I just did a river cruise to all the Christmas markets over the holidays in Europe, which was pretty amazing.

7 quick questions

What's one piece of advice you'd give to a young professional? Be true to yourself.

What is one thing you would like to see Central Iowa leaders address, and why? Data shows that in Iowa, 24% (315,017) of households are ALICE households (asset-limited, income-constrained, employed). ALICE households earn above the federal poverty line but not enough to afford the basics. We can do better to ensure our neighbors have the opportunity to not just survive but thrive.

What's one fun fact about you? I am the youngest of six kids.

What hobbies do you enjoy outside of work? Biking, walking, traveling.

What is one word that best describes you? Sincere.

What is your favorite local restaurant? Skip’s.

Name one book, podcast, movie or show you love: “The Music Man.”

About the award: The Business Record began honoring an Alum of the Year in 2010 to recognize the contributions of previous Forty Under 40 honorees who, since being honored, continued to make a major impact through professional and personal involvement locally. Previously, the awardee has been selected from nominations submitted to the Business Record. This year, a new process involved inviting past Forty Under 40 honorees to vote for their top picks from a curated list that included two honorees from each class.