Wings of Iowa Gala 2025

"If you take care of birds, you take care of most of the environment problems in the world."

- Dr. Thomas Lovejoy

Welcome to the "Afterparty"
Thank you to everyone that joined us for such a spectacular evening for our 2nd annual Wings of Iowa, A Celebration of Birds.
It was a wonderful evening.

A special thank you to Anne Shimerdla, Blank Park Zoo; Chad Elliott, musician;
Specials Guest Matilda and Cassie; Julia Hunt, Photographer;
Mike Gustafson, Photographer and especially our Gala Committee and IBR volunteers.
We still could use more help to get ready for the 2025 season so we are moving the party online and ask for your help to fund our most urgent needs:

Fill Our Food Bucket, Extreme Nest Makeover, and Bird ER
Help fund these special items to make sure IBR can do the best work for the birds and our community.
Let's do this!

Click here for details

Wings of Iowa: Online Fundraiser

Keep the Momentum Going – Help Us Save More Birds!And reach our goal by 3/31/2025.

Thank you for making this night amazing!!

SERIES PHOTO CREDIT TO: Mike Gustafson Photography, M//Design mdesigndsm.com

WHY WE DO THE WORK

If you were at the gala last year you got the first look at this video. We were so excited to share our vision.

This year we have expanded of all our systems at IBR, lots of improvements, learning and planning. We hope you can join us March 8 to hear more about how we are making a difference for birds and our community.

ANNE SHIMERDLA, BLANK PARK ZOO

Keynote

Anne Shimerdla began her career as an intern in the education department at Blank Park Zoo. After graduation, Shimerdla moved to Duluth, Minn. and became the Education Director and Animal Keeper at the Lake Superior Zoo. She then returned to Blank Park Zoo and has held many roles at the Zoo before becoming President and CEO.

Chad Elliott

Musician

Chad Elliott is a man of many of talents, musician, painter, sculpture, poet, and songwriter. We are thrilled to have a him set the tone of the gala as we start the night. Don't be late.

“…Chad Elliott stands out as a timeless and genuine musical poet with supple-strong roots like the bluestem and buffalo grass of Iowa prairie.” - Todd Partridge, NoDepression.com

Midwest singer-songwriter Chad Elliott blends folk roots, swampy blues and soulful writing to deliver an original Americana sound. His live performances have been honed over a decade of being on the road performing more than 200 shows each year. Elliott is lauded as “Iowa’s Renaissance man” by Culture Buzz Magazine. He has penned more than 1,500 songs in his career while also cultivating his skills as a painter, sculptor, illustrator and author (Wilderman’s Treetop Tales; Rumble & Flash).

Elliott has worked with many greats and shared the stage with artists of the highest caliber, including Odetta, Tom Paxton, Loudon Wainwright III, R.L. Burnside, Greg Brown, Bo Ramsey, Eric Church, Brantley Gilbert, Counting Crows, Ruthie Foster, Lonestar, Jimmy Vaughan, etc. He has won coveted awards including the Woody Guthrie Song Contest and Iowa Blues Challenge. He placed 3rd in the International Song Contest with his Americana song, "Same Old Way."

Bobbi Segura

EMCEE

Bobbi Segura lives in Des Moines and has been actively involved in the business and nonprofit community in Central Iowa. For the more than 20 years, Bobbi was a business owner and entrepreneur in the field of marketing and business development.
Bobbi Is a graduate of Leadership Iowa and and currently serves on the ABI Leadership Iowa board of directors. She has been involved as a leadership volunteer of several national and local non-profit organizations including Women Lead Change, NAWBO Iowa, St. Catherine of Siena Foundation, Central Iowa Chapter of the American Red Cross, American Red Cross Midwest Service Area Resource Council, American Red Cross National Committee on Nominations, and Des Moines Carousel Foundation. She is an alumni of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute.