Staff Members

Jessica Hyland joined IowaBio as the Executive Director in 2019.  Hyland worked as a legislative lobbyist for 11 years: first, as Government Affairs Counsel and the Director of Governmental Affairs for the Iowa League of Cities, then as an associate at Davis Brown Law Firm, and through her own business, Harder Government Relations, advocating for a variety of clients from businesses and associations to local governments. Hyland joined IowaBio from the Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI), an organization representing 1,500 member companies, where she was the Director of Public Policy.

Hyland graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Law in 2005 where she also received a Certificate in Natural Resources and Environmental Law Program of Concentrated Study, with a particular focus on water law. As an Honors Scholar, she earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Technical Journalism and Political Science from Colorado State University.

Jessica can be reached at jessica@iowabio.org or 515-327-9156.

Melissa Moyer has been the Associate Director of IowaBio since 2011.  Prior to this position she was employed at Integrated DNA Technologies from 2006-2011, first as a Customer Care Representative and then as a key account and project manager for diagnostic-grade researchers.

Moyer graduated from the University of Iowa with a B.A. in Communications in 2006.  During the length of her educational career, she worked for the Anatomy Department where she spent several years assisting with morphometric research on lung tissue.

Melissa can be reached at melissa@iowabio.org or 515-327-9156.

Sara Allen joined Cornerstone’s Des Moines office in October 2016. Sara brings over six years of healthcare experience, as well as years spent lobbying, developing and executing policy positions, engaging grassroots advocates, and assisting with political action committee campaigns and endorsements. Sara brings significant health care and legal expertise to Cornerstone. Most recently, Sara worked as a state lobbyist and staff attorney for the Iowa Hospital Association, representing all 118 Iowa hospitals at the Statehouse and various administrative agencies. In this position, Sara gained expertise in a variety of areas impacting hospitals and other health care providers, including financing and reimbursement, behavioral health, value-based healthcare delivery reform models, informational technology innovation, regulatory and legal compliance, public health initiatives and more. Before her position at the Iowa Hospital Association, Sara worked for a physician staffing company as associate corporate counsel. Sara received her juris doctorate from Drake University and her Business Administration degree from Grand View University.

Sara can be reached at sallen@cgagroup.com or 515-778-9516.