Cynthia Lande

Member, BrownWinick Law Firm

Age: 37

Husband: John Lande

Children: Katherine (8), Emily (4)

Reasons she is a Forty: Cindy is a member of the BrownWinick Law Firm executive committee; serves on the board of directors for the Iowa Law School Foundation; helped Opportunity on Deck and Courage League Sports through their merger to form Can Play and served as the first board president following the merger; and led Metro Women Connect through COVID as the chair of the executive committee.

What are your goals in your role at your company? One of my top goals is to mentor and train our newest attorneys so they develop the legal and business skills needed to thrive while serving our clients today and in the future.

What are your goals for your community involvement? I recently joined the board of directors for the Iowa Law School Foundation. I am excited to be able to share my experiences and talents with my alma mater and its current students.

What's your biggest passion, and why? As a parent and athlete, I am passionate about kids, health and wellness. One of my favorite things to do is watch my kids participate in sports or other activities. It has been an absolute pleasure to be able to help increase access to these types of programs for other kids as a board member for Can Play.

What is it that drives you? Our clients’ success is our success. My favorite part of my job is being able to tell our clients that we can solve the legal problem that has been keeping them up at night, preventing their business from growing or distracting from other business priorities.

What are your future aspirations? I want to see the legal profession mirror our community at all levels in the near future. As a mom of two daughters, I feel strongly about achieving gender equality at the highest levels of the industry in which I work.

Three hobbies: I train for and race triathlons and marathons. When I am not on the move, I love to read, especially memoirs and novels. 

Fun Fact: She has completed two half-Ironman distance triathlons.

One word to describe you: Resilient.

What is your wish for the Central Iowa business community? Following COVID, there is still a noticeable difference in the vibrancy of downtown Des Moines. My wish is that the community takes advantage of the changed environment to reinvest in the downtown area, re-commit to making it a place to live, work, and play, and create engaging new opportunities for members of the community to gather downtown.

What's one piece of advice that you would give to a young professional? Work hard, be kind and just keep showing up.

What is one issue you would like to see Central Iowa leaders address? The availability of affordable child care is an issue that is near and dear to me. This is not an issue child care providers and parents can solve on their own, and I am hopeful the business community and local leaders will continue to support parents and child care providers to increase the availability of high-quality, affordable child care options in our region.