JUNE 4, 2025

CultureALL is now 20 years old.

In celebration of this incredible milestone, we hosted a birthday party for the network of people who make our work possible. CultureALL Ambassadors, Open Book storytellers, staff, volunteers, granters, and donors gathered together at the Stine Barn for an evening of reflection and anticipation for the future.

Guests entered the Stine Barn to the sound of music chosen by CultureALL Ambassadors. They immediately saw familiar faces in the crowd, and posed for Polaroid pictures with their friends in front of our globe-themed photo wall.

Refreshments were provided by local businesses, some of whom we met through OneVoice DSM.

• Creme Cupcakes (Sammy Mila-Adams)
• Dulce Vida Desserts (Fabi Plasencia)
• Nadia’s French Bakery (Nadia Ahissou)
• BLK & Bold Coffee (Pernell Cezar Jr, Rod Johnson, Deion Sanders)
• Musa’s Lemonade (Ahmed Musa)
• Najah Deli & Grocery (Zainab Farah)

When everyone had a glass and a sweet treat, Jack Chimbetete (Client Relations Consultant at CultureALL) began drumming. He sang into the microphone as the murmurings quieted and guests listened to the powerful rhythm he brought with him from Zimbabwe.

Jack welcomed friends, family, and supporters to an evening of joyful celebration! He invited CultureALL's Founder, Sherry Gupta, to the podium to reflect on this moment. A mother of three, Sherry feels that CultureALL is her fourth child and she is so proud of how far it's come.

Now the time has come for our organization to take another big step forward. Sherry announced that starting on July 1, 2025, she will be stepping down and Jessica Orton will become the next Executive Director of CultureALL. The room exploded with applause!

Jess stepped up to the podium to express her gratitude for the people and passions that brought her here. Seeing the job posting for Operations Director at CultureALL changed her life. "This is a job?" she wondered as she read through the website and saw how much fun the interactive workshops looked.

Next, Brenda Stine Reiher of Stine Seed Company spoke on the origin of CultureALL. As Sherry's neighbor, she was one of the first people who recognized the potential in this approach to cultural programming.

Jeevanjot "JJ" Kapur first experienced CultureALL as a high school student in the classroom, then later as an AmeriCorps Fellow working in the office, and now as an Open Book storyteller. His speech started with "Dear CultureALL" as he chronicled his journey with the organization. (Read JJ's letter below.)

And finally, Dr. Eric Idehen congratulated CultureALL on two decades of building bridges in Iowa communities. In addition to being an author, father, entrepreneur, and founder of an orphanage in his home country of Nigera, Dr. Idehen was one of the earliest CultureALL Ambassadors.

The evening concluded with music and mingling. CultureALL Ambassadors R.J. Hernandez, Cucho Madero, and Juan Lourido played Latin American songs for the crowd while Jack Chimbetete drummed and Zahar Dragomirov taught basic Bachata dance steps. A group of children and adults spun across the dance floor. Pragnya Yogesh then led a classic Indian group dance that had them huffing, puffing, and smiling.

Photography was handled by Aaron Dolezal Photography and Da Godfadha Event Management. Reporters visiting from the Des Moines Register and other news outlets were also in attendance. You can read the full article by clicking here.

At the end of the night, the desserts were eaten, the announcements were made, and everyone agreed that it had been a spectacular birthday party.

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Jessica Orton, Executive Director

Starting July 1, Jessica Orton will be Executive Director of CultureALL.

The announcement was made on June 5 during CultureALL's Birthday Party. Sherry reflected on her happy memories from the past two decades, and revealed that the future of the organization would be placed into Jessie's capable hands.

Don't worry about saying goodbye! Sherry will remain with the organization under the title of Founder. Her visionary contributions to the our mission continue to make a difference in the lives of Iowa residents.

Jessie Orton started at CultureALL in 2018. She recalls stumbling across a job listing at a time when she was questioning her career choice. While successful in a corporate setting, she didn't feel satisfied. So, when she found CultureALL, it seemed almost too good to be true. Could something this fun be a real job?

As excited as Jess was about the opportunity to change career paths and join something she was truly excited about, the interview was tough. Reportedly, Sherry Gupta and Loraine Hardin have great poker faces! Jess walked out feeling certain she would never hear from them again once the rejection email came.

Fortunately for both her and CultureALL, she was wrong! Jessie was hired.

Since 2018, Jessie has been the Operations Director for CultureALL. Her gentle leadership placed the organization on a trajectory towards financial stability, sustainable growth, and maximum impact.

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A LETTER TO CULTUREALL

Jeevanjot "JJ" Kapur did more than deliver a moving speech during CultureALL's 20th Birthday Party of June 5. He read a letter he had written to the organization as a someone who has experienced it as a student, a member of staff, and an Open Book storyteller.

Dear CultureALL,

Do you remember when we first met? I was just a high school student at Valley, sitting beside my dad, sharing who we were with a circle of curious strangers. It wasn’t a performance. It was an invitation—to show up, to be real, to be heard.

For a Sikh kid growing up in Iowa, that moment was everything. You didn’t just give me permission to be seen—you celebrated it. You turned difference into dialogue.

Years later, after graduating from Stanford and returning to you—this time as an AmeriCorps fellow—I thought my role would be to build bridges between Iowans with different worldviews: Republicans and Democrats, farmers and CEOs, Christians and Muslims.

But under the guidance of your founder, Sherry Gupta, I learned that the most important bridge I had to build... was inward.

CultureALL, you taught me that storytelling is as much about listening as it is about speaking. That true belonging begins with the courage to understand yourself—so you can connect more deeply with others.

That’s what happened in a quiet classroom at Scattergood Friends School, when a transgender student—struggling with the sound of their own voice—found relief in a digital storytelling tool I never imagined could hold so much grace. Watching that student craft their own story, alongside the story of a fourth-generation Iowa farmer and Quaker, showed me just how sacred this work is.

I think often about Karen Downing—my former high school English teacher turned co-dreamer at CultureALL. Karen had a way of making even my wildest ideas feel possible. Together, we reimagined Open Book—not just as the program that once helped me, as a high schooler, find the courage to say this is who I am, but as a platform for something much larger. We brought Open Book to rural communities. We grew a library of stories—over 40 Books from all walks of life.

People you can check out and hear a chapter of their life story. And in every Open Book conversation, I watched assumptions unravel. I watched people become more than just labels.

One Grand View University student said it best after an Open Book session:

“I was moved at how similar yet different we both were. Her mother was a single mom—so was mine. She had next to nothing—so did I. She’s been judged and discriminated against—so have I. It was too eerily similar. But I respected her more when she told her story.”

Now, as I begin the first paragraph of what will become the story of my life as a PhD student in Counseling Psychology at the University of Iowa, I carry with me the greatest lesson you ever taught me:

That everyone holds a story worth hearing.
That healing begins with being seen.
And that the bridges we build—inward and outward—can transform lives.

So thank you, CultureALL. Thank you for twenty years of choosing community over isolation, understanding over fear, and story over stereotype. And hey—congratulations. You’re turning 20. I just turned 25. So technically, I’ve been around longer… but I think you might be the one who's aging with more wisdom.

Here’s to the bridges we’ve built—and all the ones still to come.

With love and gratitude,
JJ Kapur