The Dubuque Initiatives Board is made up of community members and City representatives. The Board meets bi-monthly to collaboratively work toward achieving the organization’s mission, align with City of Dubuque key initiatives, and support the projects of other impactful community organizations.
Kevin Lynch
Mike Jansen
Poppy Conlon
Brad Cavanagh
Rick Dickinson
Tyson Leyendecker
David Resnick 
Kristin Dietzel 
Jason White 
Caprice Jones
Mike Van Milligen
Dawn Lueken
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President & CEO of Net-Smart
Community Involvement: Former Dubuque City Council Member, Dubuque Racing Association, Finley Hospital, Dubuque Initiatives, Greater Dubuque Development Corporation
Senior Project Manager & Structural/Civil Engineer at Strand Associates, Inc.. Former CEO & Principal Engineer at IIW, P.C..
Michael was born and raised in the Tri-State Area. He was on the East Dubuque Savings Bank Board of Directors, UW-Platteville Foundation Board, UW-Platteville Alumni Board, and was involved in numerous community service activities over the course of his 32+ year career as a professional engineer.
Michael and his wife Paula have 4 adult children and 5 grandchildren.
Poppy Conlon works for Conlon Construction as Vice President and Director of Marketing. She holds a bachelor of science degree in psychology from Colorado State University and a master's degree in education from DePaul University. After spending over 20 years in Colorado and Chicago, she moved back to her hometown of Dubuque in 2015.
Community involvement:
Finley Health Foundation Board of Directors
Dubuque County Historical Society Board of Directors
Dubuque Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors
Two by Two Character Development Board of Directors
100 Women Who Care Dubuque chapter steering committee
Brad Cavanagh, of 565 Fenelon Place, was elected as Mayor in November 2021. Previously, he served on the Dubuque City Council representing the city’s Fourth Ward
beginning in 2019.
Brad is a social worker with over 20 years of experience working in a variety of practice settings with diverse populations. He spent the last decade at Loras College in Dubuque as an associate professor of social work. He holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Iowa and a master’s degree in social work from Saint Louis University. Brad and his wife, Jennifer, have two sons.
President & CEO of Greater Dubuque Development Corporation
Community Involvement: Dubuque Racing Association, Iowa Legal Aid, CIRAS Advisory Council
Tyson Leyendecker, of 1760 Overview Ct., was elected to the Dubuque City Council in November 2025 to represent the city’s First Ward. A native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Tyson has lived in Dubuque since 2017. He currently serves as president and chief credit officer of Capra Bank. Previously, he served as president and CEO of another well-known community bank before joining Capra Bank. He holds an MBA from the University of Arizona and a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of New Mexico.
Tyson's civic involvement includes service on the boards of the:
- Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce,
- Dubuque County Historical Society,
- Dubuque Museum of Art,
- Dubuque Racing Association,
- Dubuque Rotary,
- Dyersville Events,
David Resnick, of 2341 Coventry Park, #207, was first elected to the Dubuque City Council in 2007. He was re-elected in November 2019 and is currently serving his fourth term. He is one of two at-large members.
Councilman Resnick is a native Iowan and has resided in Dubuque since 1984. He was on the Fine Arts faculty of Clarke University in Dubuque from 1993 to 2018 during which time he held many leadership positions at the college and was a presenter for the prestigious Mackin-Mailander Lecture Series. He is currently the executive director of the Northeast Iowa School of Music (NISOM) in Dubuque. Councilman Resnick and his wife, Mimi, have four children.
Councilman Resnick holds a Master of Music Education degree from Northern Illinois University and a permanent professional teaching certificate from the State of Iowa. He has been involved in a broad spectrum of community organizations including the Dubuque Arts Council, Dubuque Chamber of Commerce, the Langworthy Neighborhood Association, and the Grand Opera House. He is also a member of many professional and musical performance organizations.
Founder and CEO of M & M Sales Enterprises.
Raised on Iowa Farm, trained as an Engineer and work as a serial entrepreneur;
Community Involvement:
Startup Dubuque Board Member
Member of St. Anthony parish
External Advisory to University of Illinois
Kristin Dietzel, CEO, Painted Sky Designs
a wholesale and retail outdoor furniture company founded and operating in Dubuque. Kristin graduated from University of St. Thomas in 2004 and earned a master’s degree from University of Iowa in 2006 and a Certificate of Analytics from Loras College in 2014. Kristin and her husband Kevin moved to Dubuque in 2009, where she served at Northeast Iowa Community College as Director of Grants and Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness. From 2016-2021 Kristin led Greater Dubuque Development Corporation’s Office of Workforce Solutions, where she oversaw a comprehensive community workforce recruitment, retention, and education and training program. Kristin serves on the board of the Dubuque Museum of Art and the Dubuque Senior Educational Foundation. Kristin and Kevin have two school-age children, Charlotte and Beckett.
President & CEO Greater Dubuque Development Corporation
As president and CEO, Jason White leads our organization’s ongoing mission to propel economic development in the Greater Dubuque region to new heights with over 20 years of leadership experience across communities in Iowa and Wisconsin. He is responsible for the successful implementation of our business services, workforce solutions, and strategic initiatives. Jason is also the principal liaison between our regional economic development partners, the City of Dubuque, and the State of Iowa.
Bio Coming Soon
Dubuque City Manager
Community Involvement: Dubuque Racing Association Board Member, Dubuque Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Board Member
Dawn Lueken has worked for John Deere Dubuque Works for almost 20 years in a
variety of roles in Supply Management and Operations. She currently leads a cross
functional new product development team as the Program Manager for Crawler Dozers
and Loaders. Dawn and her husband, Chad, are natives of the Dubuque area and have
5 children.
Community Involvement:
Dubuque Initiatives
Carnegie-Stout Public Library Foundation Board