This article is the third in a series by Catt Center staff, interns and graduate assistants intended to provide an inside perspective on some of the work we do at the center and the people who do this work.
By Carrie Ann Johnson, associate director for outreach and communication
At the time, I was working with undergraduates on research in political messaging, the motivations behind why women run for office and the types of sexism they encounter along the way. That experience opened a door for me, not just into the world of political research, but into a way of working that felt deeply aligned with both my heart and mind.
Since then, I’ve had the honor of growing alongside this organization. After my assistantship, I served as interim coordinator of research and outreach, and now I work as an associate director, overseeing communication and outreach initiatives.
In my current role, I coordinate the voter engagement interns, organize the Ready to Run® Iowa campaign workshops, lead the professional development series for ISU faculty and staff, and oversee the Archives of Women’s Political Communication. I also support our incredible interns as they turn their research into conference presentations and academic work. But beyond titles and tasks, what I really do is serve as a bridge between academia and the broader public, between research and relationship, between students and their future selves.
My favorite part of working at the Catt Center, hands down, is the people I get to work with. Our interns aren’t just students. We cheer for them as they present research, navigate challenges, move into new life stages and begin their careers. Some of the students I first mentored when I arrived are still in my life today, three years after graduation. They became like family. Watching them blossom into powerful, confident, thoughtful human beings is the most fulfilling part of my work.
One of the most meaningful things we do at the Catt Center is hard to quantify: we model a different kind of work culture. As a center, we are highly productive and the outcomes we produce are exceptional, but all of it is completed with humanity and kindness at the forefront. At work we don’t have to tamp down enthusiasm, curiosity and joy.
This work has changed me. I’ve learned that my heart and mind don’t have to live in separate worlds. At the Catt Center, I’ve found that my best ideas, my most impactful programs and my most fulfilling relationships happen when I bring my full, human self to the table. In a world that often asks us to divide ourselves into clean compartments (professional, academic, emotional, personal), I have found a strong purpose for showing up whole.
What makes the Catt Center special is the people. The Catt Center staff doesn’t just come here to fulfill a requirement. We bring our whole selves into this space and model the kind of work environment that is possible when professionalism and care stand as core pillars of our work.
Interns are surprised by how much we believe in them and their ideas, and they leave having grown into some of the most powerful, thoughtful and capable humans I know. Many of them become like family. We cheer them on as they move into new life stages. We celebrate their career successes. And yes, we still text. We still talk. We still care.
There’s something extraordinary that happens in an environment where you’re allowed to be fully human. Our students learn by watching us work hard and be human. Productivity and excellence can be grounded in kindness and enthusiasm. They see that research and outreach can be rooted in joy, that leadership can be practiced with empathy, and that success doesn’t require perfection, but connection.
My personal work is grounded in the belief that heart-led leadership is not soft. It is powerful. When you bring your heart and mind together, when you stop compartmentalizing yourself into the professional and the personal, the work becomes not just better, it becomes transformational. For you and for those around you.
I love that my position allows me to take the language of academia and translate it into action that affects real people in real communities. Whether I’m helping students register voters or guiding a community member into running for office, the goal is the same. To build a world where everyone feels seen, included, and empowered to lead.
This is not always easy work, but it is joyful work. It is human work. It is work that requires curiosity, courage and community. And I am so grateful to be doing it with a team that shares those values and with students who are rewriting what leadership looks like for the next generation.
At the Catt Center, we don’t just train leaders. We invite them to bring their whole story, their full selves, and to lead from the inside out.