Leopold Center - Full-time accountant joins Center staff

A full-time accountant has joined the Leopold Center staff to manage the Center's finances and work with more than 80 grant accounts administered by the Center.

Karen Jacobson, a certified public accountant for many years, began work July 1 as an administrative specialist. She brings a diverse background in public and private accounting that includes seven years as controller for Bethany Life Communities, a continuing care retirement community in Story City. She also has worked as an independent consultant, auditor and corporate treasurer for an Ames bank.

She has a degree in accounting from Augustana College in Illinois and an MBA in accounting from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She recently served as president (and was chartering president) of the Ames chapter of the American Society of Women Accountants and a mentor in the Iowa Society of CPAs.

One of Jacobson’s tasks will be to coordinate and write a new grants manual for the Center’s many partners and researchers. She said she hopes to streamline the process for grantees to prepare budgets and report how Center funds have been used in various projects.

“I enjoy people very much and it’s important to me to contribute to the successful operation of the Center,” Jacobson said.

She also will prepare quarterly budget reports for the Leopold Center Advisory Board and provide backup office support for payroll and purchasing.

Jacobson was born in Chicago but has spent most of her life in rural Wisconsin and Iowa communities. “I know how important agriculture is to our economy,” she said. “I am excited to work at the Leopold Center because I really believe in its vision — to explore and cultivate alternatives that secure healthier people and landscapes.”

Jacobson lives in Story City with her husband Paul. They have a 21-year-old son who is a senior in management information systems at Iowa State University.

Since 2002, the Center’s finances were managed by Amy Rogers under an agreement between the Center and the College of Agriculture budget and finance office. When Rogers left in February for another position on campus, the Center decided to hire its own full-time account specialist. From 1989 to 2002, Ken Anderson was the Center’s full-time account specialist.