CHIEF BOSSINESS OFFICER. Tenacious finisher in a crew of starters. Hates injustice. Thinks pretty slides are the adult version of coloring books.

As a youngster, Jodi loved to force her friends to play school. She was, of course, the teacher. Later, she imagined a career as a best-selling author. Neither of those dreams panned out, but teaching and writing are still her two favorite parts of consulting.

After earning a degree in Communication Studies from Simpson, Jodi’s first jobs included coordinating international trade shows and planning incentive travel.  The days were long, but those early days ignited a life-long passion for experiencing the world.

Travel subject matter expertise eventually translated to an unexpected career leap towards information technology, initially supporting a travel-related technology platform. 

Within a few years, Jodi launched her first consulting company, Simple Logic, where she provided business analysis, process analysis, and project management consulting to Des Moines metro companies.

That early consulting eventually led to engagements focused on strategic planning, product design, strategic human resources, and merger integration work. 

In 2019, Jodi partnered with long-time colleague Andy Haning-Brown to launch a new consulting firm, Canary Consulting Group.

When she’s not serving nonprofit clients, Jodi lives in Waukee with her husband Scott and teen son, Nathan, where she spends her time dreaming up home improvement projects, killing houseplants, and reading trashy novels with no redeeming literary value.

CHIEF SARCASM OFFICER. Leads by example. Perpetually snarky. Despises bullies and too much downtime. Lots of irons in the fire.

Andy launched his career as a COBOL developer. It’s 60-year-old technology now, but if he ever leaves consulting, there’s no doubt he could make a killing … it’s in hot demand today as older programmers retire.  

After joining Principal Financial Group as a bright, shiny 19-year-old, he wrote some of their mortgage division’s first online applications. He’s been a groundbreaker ever since.

Andy spent the next 17 years at Principal, but in so many different positions it was like working at several companies.

After his developer days, Andy spent time as an IT recruiter, led the human resource’s team of business analysts, worked on rolling out technology to international compensation teams, and spent time in corporate communications.

Andy’s HR experience came in handy as he joined Aureon HR – an HR outsourcing firm - in 2017. Though originally joining that team as the Director of Strategy and Innovation, he quickly went on to other positions including the Vice President of Benefits, and Vice President Business Services, where he became a reluctant expert in acquisition integration.

In 2019, Andy joined forces with Jodi Rhone as they launched Canary Consulting Group.

When he’s not serving nonprofit clients, Andy works at his “other day job” where he co-owns AllSpice in Des Moines’ East Village and Coralville’s Iowa River Landing with his husband Rory. In his occasional spare time, Andy hangs out with his dogs, spends time at his cabin on Spring Lake in northern Missouri, and kills endless hours surfing TikTok.

CHIEF GRANT SHERPA. Funding genius. Teacher at heart. Loves making messy things neat and boring things compelling.

Like many grant professionals, Trace didn't enter the field on purpose. She wrote her first proposal because she had the single required credential—being willing to try.

Trace started her career an educator, then developed a writing and research side hustle. In 2000, a friend asked for help with a high profile grant proposal. And the rest, as they say, is history.

As word spread, Trace’s grant writing skills were in demand … so much that no single writer could possibly keep up. In response, Trace launched Kitchen Sink Communications, where she led a team responsible for writing hundreds of grants each year.

Grants for programming, capacity building, general operating, and capital projects … you name it, she’s written it. Since 2020, Trace’s clients have secured $145 million in grant funding from her work; most impressively, they collectively spend less than a penny on every dollar returned through grant awards.

All that grant writing makes a grant professional … tired. After years of informal collaboration with the team at Canary Consulting Group, Trace is excited to partner to focus on her first loves … teaching nonprofits about the essentials of building their OWN grant expertise and being strategic about their approach to funding.

When she’s not serving nonprofit clients, Trace lives in Johnston with her husband, John, where she gazes into their forest-like retreat of a back yard, plays with her fluffy Golden Retrievers Wally and Tallulah, and plans fabulous international trips that make Jodi jealous.

CHIEF CURIOSITY GEEK. Challenge and change junkie. Perilously independent. Annoyingly finds the goodness in all things and people.

Chris initially planned to teach psychology and math to high schoolers … that is, until student teaching convinced her to take a quick detour. Chris launched her social work career as a direct care staff in a girls group home. All five girls ran away in her first week … the third person she called (after her supervisor and law enforcement) was her mom. Chris has always preferred difficult teenagers to most other people

A learning junkie, Chris obtained her Master’s of Social Work through a concentration on research and policy. Described by friends and family as both annoyingly analytical and wildly compassionate, Chris focuses on the big picture and how it impacts us all.

After grad school, Chris worked in the ‘dark side’ of quality and compliance for a managed care organization before being drawn back to the organization where it all began. “Bossy” Chris (her sister’s lifelong title for her) climbed the ladder in that same child welfare organization for nearly all of her adult life, believing her personal mission was to positively impact as many kids and families as possible.

After guiding a residential program through COVID, shepherding a large merger and integration of two organizations with identical missions (but vastly different cultures), completing her MBA, navigating through a very public crisis, and helping to select her successor, Chris is up for any challenge.  

When she’s not serving nonprofit clients, Chris lives in downtown Des Moines with her partner, Andy (no, not our Andy), where she risks her life on an e-scooter to enjoy the food and drinks of brunching. She enjoys time with her adult daughters, Chelsey and Maya, and her retired parents, constantly counting down the days until she checks another trip off her travel bucket list.