Women Helping Women
28th Annual Women Helping Women Luncheon
Friday, May 15, 2026
Networking 11:00 – 11:30 AM | Program 11:30 – 1:00 PM
Meadows Events Center at Prairie Meadows
Join Us in Honoring 28 Years of Impact!
Since 1999, this event has raised over $2.7 million to transform lives in our community!
Women Helping Women is the Center’s annual luncheon that supports counseling, education, training, and other essential services for women, children, and families who are uninsured, underinsured, or from low-income households. This inspiring event uplifts our community while raising critical funds to ensure mental health care remains accessible to all who need it.
This year’s Women Helping Women explores the many ways we experience loss—and how creativity, connection, and compassion can help us heal and reimagine what comes next.
By participating, you become part of a community committed to fostering hope and healing. Together, we can create lasting change and empower those who need it most. Join us as we work toward a brighter future for Iowa’s women, children, and families.
2026 Women Helping Women Honoree & Speaker
Suzanna de Baca
Women Helping Women 2026
Honoree
Meet Suzanna
HONOREE
Suzanna de Baca is an accomplished CEO, board director and thought leader whose career has been defined by building strong organizations, advancing human-centered leadership and championing holistic health
As CEO of Story Board Advisors, Suzanna partners with CEOs, boards, and family enterprises to define vision, navigate complexity and build resilient, high-performing organizations grounded in purpose, trust, and human connection.
Suzanna brings more than three decades of executive leadership experience across media, healthcare, financial services, and governance. She previously served as President and CEO of Business Publications Corporation, leading the award-winning media company to national recognition three times as a Top Ten Publisher to Watch by Editor & Publisher. She also served as CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and held senior leadership roles at Neuberger Berman, Weiss Peck and Greer, Bank of America Private Bank, and Ameriprise Financial.
Her insights have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, USA Today, Forbes, MSNBC, Inc., CEO Magazine, and Directorship Magazine. She was named one of the Top 50 Women in Media for 2024 and 2025 by Women We Admire and was featured in the bestselling book The Courage to Advance.
A longtime advocate for health equity and mental health, Suzanna is deeply committed to advancing psychologically healthy workplaces and communities. Much of her writing, speaking, and leadership work centers on strengthening resilience, reducing stigma, and expanding access to compassionate, high-quality health services. Suzanna is also an artist and poet whose work has appeared widely in national and international literary publications.
She serves on multiple corporate and nonprofit boards, is a NACD Certified Director, an International Coaching Federation Certified Coach, and a faculty member at Iowa State University’s Ivy College of Business. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Iowa State University.
Amy Putney Koenig
Women Helping Women 2026
Speaker
Meet Amy
SPEAKER
Amy Putney Koenig is a multidisciplinary artist whose work brings beauty to brokenness. Through large-scale murals, acrylic paintings, and collage made with antique ephemera, she invites the viewer to tune into the light, magic and essence within themselves.
Drawing on her personal experiences as a survivor of addiction, intergenerational family trauma and her work as a Death Doula, Putney Koenig uses her art to prompt conversations around difficult topics and promote community-centered healing. Her creative mission is to honor “the joys in life and the moments that bring us to our knees.”
Known for a distinctive illustrative style inspired by iconography and folk art, Putney Koenig’s public art pieces incorporate vibrant colors and positive messaging. Her more intimate artworks explore the natural world and the mystical unknown. Putney Koenig has presented solo exhibits and organized group exhibits themed around the duality of life and death, addiction and recovery, self-doubt and self-love.
Born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, Putney Koenig studied fiber art, painting, and computer art at Iowa State University. She graduated in 1992 with a BFA in Fine Art + Visual Studies. Working as a professional artist and Art Director in her 30-year career with Sticks Object Art and Furniture, Putney Koenig’s playful illustrations helped the brand gain national recognition. She enhanced custom, heirloom furniture pieces for private clients, galleries, and public spaces across the United States.
In 2024, with support from an Iowa Arts Council project grant, Putney Koenig published “Shapeshifter: The Art of Family Tragedy and How to Be Amazing Anyway.” Part memoir, part artistic workbook, Shapeshifter connects readers to the embodied process of art making.
She continues to create from her studio in the Drake Neighborhood and offers donation-based Death Doula services. amyputneykoenigart.com
Photo: Ivory House Photography
Become A 2026 Sponsor Today
Women Helping Women is Mind & Spirit Counseling Center’s annual fundraising event, dedicated to ensuring no one is turned away from mental health care due to insurance status or financial circumstances. Proceeds support counseling and education for women, children, and families who are uninsured, underinsured, or facing financial hardship.
As a 2026 sponsor, you play a vital role in removing barriers to care and strengthening our community. Your partnership helps keep mental health services accessible to those who need them most.
Make A Commitment As A Special Guest
Special Guests provide leadership-level support for Women Helping Women, making a meaningful commitment to mental health access in our community. These elevated levels of giving helps ensure that individuals and families are never turned away from the care they need because of insurance or financial limitations.
By joining us as a Special Guest, you are directly supporting life-changing counseling and services for those who need it most—and standing as a champion for compassion, dignity, and healing.
Thank you to our current 2026 sponsors and donors for supporting our 28th Annual Women Helping Women luncheon!
Presenting Sponsor | $10,000
Sally Wallace
Leadership Sponsors | $5,000
Supporting Sponsors | $2,500
Wells Fargo
Iowa Radiology
Table Hosts | $1,500
Barbara Beatty
Des Moines University
D.J. Newlin
Claudette and P.J. McDonald
Special Friends – $1,000
Heather Stuyvesant
Leader Plus – $500
Leader – $250
Young Leaders- $125
Your Gift Creates Change in Our Community
If the opportunities listed above do not align with your interests or availability, we invite you to contribute in another way. Your gift will make a meaningful difference in advancing the mission of Women Helping Women.
For more information, contact the Community Relations Team today at:
Office: 515.274.4006 | Email: [email protected]
