About me
For more than two decades, Katie Roche has had the privilege of working alongside dedicated community members to support and grow Iowa City's vibrant arts and cultural organizations. She served as the first Executive Director of Summer of the Arts, helping establish the newly formed umbrella organization and strengthen its festivals and community programming. That early leadership role helped shape her collaborative approach to fundraising and community-building.
Building on that foundation, Katie went on to serve as Development Director for The Englert Theatre, where she helped inspire broad community support to restore and stabilize the historic theater and expand its programming. She played a key role in the Strengthen Grow Evolve (“Building the Greatest Small City for the Arts campaign, which contributed to the preservation of the Englert, the expansion of the art house cinema FilmScene into a state-of-the-art location at the Chauncey, and increased access to arts education.
In addition to her organizational leadership, Katie founded Katie Roche Consulting, where she partners with small and mid-sized nonprofits to develop thoughtful strategies for annual campaigns, sponsorship development, membership growth, and capital campaigns, helping organizations build sustainable support and long-term impact.
Today, Katie serves as Development Director for the Iowa City Public Library Friends Foundation, where she is honored to support one of the community's most treasured institutions, the Iowa City Public Library. Through collaborative fundraising, partnership-building, and community engagement, Katie connects people with opportunities to support the Library as users, volunteers, and donors and helps sustain the cultural heartbeat of Iowa City.
