Rob Sand
State Auditor of Iowa
Rob was born and raised in Decorah, Iowa. He found a passion for public service in high school, when he worked for two years to build a public skate park. He graduated from Decorah High School in 2001.
After high school, Rob attended and graduated from Brown University. There, he built a reputation for being able to work productively with individuals of all political persuasions. He built a class on political diversity that led to the creation of an institute for productive political discourse that still thrives today. He also published or presented research in three areas and taught at a reading camp for children. While there, Rob was named a Harry S Truman Scholar.
After college, Rob chose to return to Iowa to attend the University of Iowa Law School on a full merit scholarship. He was the first student ever to be both a President of the Iowa Student Bar Association and an Editor-in-Chief of a law journal. He also led a student volunteer effort to commit over 1,000 hours of volunteer labor to cleaning and rebuilding Cedar Rapids after the 2008 floods. Before graduating he was awarded the Hancher-Finkbine Medallion, the University of Iowa’s highest award.
As an Assistant Attorney General, Rob focused on prosecuting financial crime. He successfully prosecuted attorneys, investment advisors, embezzlers, and those who exploit the elderly. Rob additionally prosecuted a wide range of other crimes, including sexual abuse, robbery, murder, attempted murder, and perjury.
State Legislator
ZACH WAHLS
Iowa Senate Democratic Leader, State Senator
Zach Wahls was elected to his first term in the Iowa Senate in 2018. He represents Senate District 37, which includes Coralville, western Iowa City and Solon in Johnson County; all of Cedar County; and the City of Wilton in Muscatine County.
Senator Wahls is the Senate Democratic Leader. He serves on the following committees:
Zach ran for the Iowa Senate to help give all Iowans a voice. He hasn’t forgotten what it felt like to be left out or how hard families like his have had to fight to get a seat at the table.
Prior to his election, Zach worked primarily as an advocate in the LGBTQ rights movement following his 2011 testimony before the Iowa House Judiciary Committee about growing up with lesbian parents in the Midwest. In this capacity, he wrote extensively about his family’s experience, including a best-selling book; he has spoken at more than 200 events, ranging from junior high schools to a prime-time speech at the 2012 Democratic Convention; and he co-founded and led Scouts for Equality, which successfully organized the national campaign to end discrimination against LGBT people in the Boy Scouts of America.
Zach has co-created two creative projects: a creative writing project called “The Rainbow Letters,” an online collection of nearly 100 letters written by people with one or more LGBTQ parents; and The Woman Cards— an art project inspired by Hillary Clinton’s response to Mr. Trump’s accusation that she “played the woman card” during the 2016 presidential campaign—in conjunction with his sister Zebby. The Woman Cards is a deck of playing cards featuring 15 hand-drawn portraits of American women who changed the world even though the deck was stacked against them.
Zach completed his Masters in Public Affairs from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in June 2018.
Zach lives in Coralville. Outside of his work as a state senator, he enjoys time outdoors, sipping whiskey, reading, writing and cheering for the Iowa Hawkeyes and Green Bay Packers.
JENNIFER KONFRST
Iowa House Democratic Leader, State Representative
Rep. Jennifer Konfrst is serving her second term representing the people of Iowa House District 43, which includes Windsor Heights, Clive, and West Des Moines. In addition to serving as the Minority Whip during the 2021 session, Konfrst has served on the Appropriations, Judiciary, State Government, Transportation, and House Administration and Rules Committees.
In addition to serving in the Iowa House, Konfrst is currently an Associate Professor in Drake University's School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Before teaching at Drake, Jennifer spent 12 years in communications leadership at Iowa Public Television (IPTV). While there, she was responsible for strategy and implementation of communications for the network. She also served as the spokesperson for IPTV, on-air host during fundraising drives, and worked on special programs during the Iowa State Fair.
In 2018, Jennifer received the Madeline Levitt Mentor of the Year Award at Drake University. She has also been recognized as a finalist for the Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa's Inspiring Women of Iowa Courage Award and as Outstanding New Member from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Central Iowa Chapter in 2014, as a member of the Des Moines Business Record's 40 Under 40 Class of 2010, and as national PBS Communicator of the Year in 2007.
Jennifer has lived in Iowa most of her life. After living in northern Iowa and then out of state for a short time as a child, she returned to Iowa and graduated from Johnston High School in 1992. She earned both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees from Drake University, and her husband Lee earned his undergraduate and law degrees there.
Konfrst lives in Windsor Heights with her husband of 25 years, Lee Konfrst, and her two children: Ellie is a senior at the University of Notre Dame and James is a sophomore at the University of Iowa. Lee is an attorney and works at Nationwide in Des Moines. They are members of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in Des Moines,
Konfrst has always been an active member of the community. She has served as President of the Plymouth Nursery School Board, President of the Downtown School PTA, Mock Trial coach at Merrill Middle School, and was a member of the PTA and a debate team parent volunteer at Roosevelt High School.