BY ERIN CAMPBELL
On July 26, Leslie Kaufman began her new role as the executive vice president and general manager (EVP/GM) of the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives (IAEC), the statewide trade association serving Iowa’s electric cooperatives. After a comprehensive executive search, the IAEC board selected Kaufman to succeed Chuck Soderberg, who retired this summer after nine years of service at IAEC. She is the association’s sixth EVP/GM in IAEC’s 82-year history.
We sat down with Kaufman during her first week on the job to learn more about her and the plans she has for serving Iowa’s electric cooperatives.
What compelled you to apply for the EVP/GM position at IAEC?
After previously serving as an association executive, I believe I can positively contribute to an organization at a higher level.
When I saw the posting for the EVP/GM opening at IAEC, I noted the many similarities between the association and the statewide association I was working for at that time, Kansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (KEC). The programming, staff size and structure were very similar, so my skills and experiences fit well with IAEC’s model.
IAEC’s core values align with my own personal values, so I knew there would be a sense of shared purpose. Our family has traveled to and through Iowa several times over the years, and once we knew of the opening, my husband and I revisited the Des Moines area. We really liked it and felt like it was a place we could easily call home. I am honored by the board’s confidence in me to lead IAEC in this next chapter of serving electric cooperative members.
During your initial days on the job, what were your first impressions of IAEC and Iowa’s electric cooperatives?
The staff and members that I have met have welcomed me wholeheartedly. The staff is incredibly talented and committed to serving the membership. The IAEC board takes its responsibilities very seriously and wants the organization to provide value to its members.
In your first few months at IAEC, what will be your focus/strategy?
Overall, I want to ensure a smooth leadership transition for members, staff and the association as a whole.
A top priority is visiting member cooperatives and meeting with managers and local board members. I want to learn about each co-op, its successes and the challenges it faces. I also want to know members’ thoughts on IAEC’s services and programs, particularly if IAEC could provide different or additional services to help members succeed. These discussions tie into the association’s strategic objective to evaluate/expand services. Meeting legislative and government leaders and fellow utility and association peers is also a priority.
What would you like to share with readers about your work with cooperatives in Kansas?
For 20 years, I had the privilege of working for cooperative members in Kansas. As president/CEO of the Kansas Cooperative Council (Council), I worked primarily with agriculture cooperatives of all sizes, from single stations to the largest farmer-owned cooperatives in the U.S. The Council also served as an umbrella association for all types of cooperatives in Kansas, including the statewide associations for electric co-ops and credit unions, the Farm Credit system, and telecommunications cooperatives.
The Council supported KEC, the Kansas statewide, in their lobbying efforts and that relationship eventually led me to KEC over six years ago. While at KEC, I led the organization’s advocacy efforts, including public policy development, lobbying, much of the regulatory work, grassroots outreach and legal activities.
What are some activities and achievements from KEC that you are most proud of accomplishing?
During my first legislative session at KEC, we secured a significant victory for co-ops related to service territory protection. In Kansas, municipalities can unilaterally annex co-op electric service territory and displace the co-op. If the area taken was prime for development, but service had not yet been extended into the territory, the co-op was not compensated for that lost opportunity. We capitalized on some unexpected opportunities and succeeded in moving legislation providing notice and an opportunity to bid to remain the service provider. If not allowed to do so, the legislation created a 10-year window in which the co-op could receive a percentage of revenues from new services that developed in the annexed area.
We secured another significant legislative victory for electric cooperatives, statutorily reversing a decision from the Kansas Corporation Commission that would have required electric utilities to assume liability for marking underground lines they did not own or control and may not have known even existed. We advanced legislation recognizing the electric utility’s responsibility for marking extends only to lines the utility owns or controls.
I led the effort to launch an adopt-a-legislator program to connect legislators who did not have co-op service territory in their district with an electric cooperative. Beneficial and meaningful relationships were forged across party lines and geographic boundaries, fostering greater understanding of cooperatives and the issues they face. Members and lawmakers are truly enjoying opportunities to work together.
Tell us about your family.
My husband Mike is a band and music teacher at a small, rural school. He teaches in the town I grew up in, but I had graduated and left for college before he was hired at the school. He had already committed to teaching the 2024-25 school year when I was offered the EVP/GM position at IAEC, so he will finish out this school year in Kansas and then join me full-time in Iowa.
We have two children. Our oldest, Jared, is married to Megan, and they live in Fairmount, Indiana. Jared is an assistant pastor, and Megan is a social worker. Our daughter Emily is also an assistant pastor and works at a church in Brookings, South Dakota.
What attractions in Iowa are you looking forward to experiencing?
We have already attended an Iowa Cubs game and look forward to seeing more games. We also hear great things about the farmers markets in the Des Moines area. I want to go to Pella Tulip Time next spring.
Do you have a mantra or words to live by?
Professionally, my goal is to do my best each and every day to ensure that Iowa is the best place to operate an electric cooperative, be a co-op member or work for a cooperative. As a 4-H alum, their motto, “To make the best better,” still resonates with me and reminds me that there is always something more that can be done to improve a program, service or process. Another favorite saying is from a sign a friend has on her office wall. It’s very simple: “Work hard and be nice.”
Erin Campbell is the director of communications for the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives.
