NEW FACILITATOR | We have hired a Lee County native as the first CEO facilitator! Kaci DeSpain is from Keokuk and is ready to get started.

“CEO will teach the students professional communication skills in actual business settings and I am excited to see their excitement develop throughout the class,” DeSpain said. “I am especially looking forward to watching the transformation of the kids from the start of the class to the end of the school year and see their professional personalities and skills develop.”

DeSpain is the operations manager of The Hidden Tower and The Lab located in Keokuk, Iowa, which includes an event center and sports gym, and she is also a coach in Lee County. DeSpain graduated from Keokuk High School in 2017, then attended Luther College where she played basketball and served as captain while she earned a bachelor's degree in Business Management. She then earned her masters in business administration from Maryville University in 2022. She previously worked in marketing at Quincy Medical Group and then in finance at Barnett Financial Partners, before founding and launching her current businesses with her family in Lee County. She is also an avid Iowa Hawkeye sports fan.

“CEO is something that I really wish that I would have had while I was going to high school to develop my business skills,” DeSpain said. “I am looking forward to helping the CEO students learn and develop alongside me, while I continue to learn about running a business in Lee County.”

Keokuk Community School District Fort Madison Community School District Central Lee Community School District Holy Trinity Crusaders #LAUNCHLEECOUNTY #SoutheastIowa Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship