Rob Barron

Executive Director, Iowa and Minnesota Campus Compact

Rob Barron, Executive Director of Iowa and Minnesota Campus Compact, brings a wealth and breadth of experience in civic and community engagement and higher education leadership to the newly merged organization.

Formerly, he served as the Special Assistant to Grand View University President Kent Henning for Government and Community Relations. In that role, he represented Grand View before elected officials and bureaucrats and worked to build relationships with the community. Additionally, Rob served two terms on the Des Moines School Board, including three years as chair or vice chair of the board. Rob was the first Latino to win elected office in Polk County and is the co-founder of the Latino Political Network, a non-partisan organization that serves to educate and empower Latinos to serve at all levels of elected office throughout Iowa. Rob serves on the Board of Directors for the Mid-Iowa Health Foundation, United Way of Central Iowa, and Polk County Early Childhood Iowa. He previously worked for U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (Ret.) including serving as Senator Harkin’s Iowa State Staff Director and lead education policy advisor in Washington, D.C., where he was responsible for working on education legislation at all levels, from early childhood education to higher education.

In 2021, Madison 365 named Rob one of the Midwest’s most influential people of color.

A Des Moines native, Rob earned a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Grinnell College.