New CFO at Heartland Family Service from Treynor

A Treynor woman has been appointed to an executive position at Heartland Family Service.

Amy Carolus has been named chief financial officer of the nonprofit human services organization, according to a release from the nonprofit. She started on Jan. 23 at its Omaha headquarters.

Carolus has almost 20 years of experience in leadership, planning and program management, including 12 years in health care and human services. Previously, she was the chief operating officer at the Durham Museum in Omaha after she was promoted to that position from director of finance, she said.

She said she was drawn to Heartland by their good works in the community.

"I think they have an amazing culture, and it's a good place to work; but in reality, it's the good they're doing in so many ways for the people who need it," she said. "I'm just grateful for the opportunity to be here, and I look forward to working with them and being able to (contribute), even if it's behind the scenes."

John Jeanetta, president and CEO, said Carolus' background in the health and nonprofit sectors was important to Heartland.

"We're just glad to have someone with her experience," he said.

Carolus is responsible for financial matters and also plays a role in human resources, helping with strategies, support and risk management.

She has roots in southwest Iowa. The youngest of nine children, she grew up in Oakland where her father was an elementary principal and her mother was a nurse.

Carolus earned a bachelor's degree in accounting at University of Nebraska at Omaha. Her first job was as an auditor at KPMG in Omaha, where she did public accounting for government agencies and nonprofit organizations. After four years, she returned to UNO and completed an Executive Master of Business Administration degree program.

Carolus worked as director of financial analysis and planning at CHI Health - then Alegent Health - for almost 10 years and in a finance position at Mosaic in Omaha.

"My entire career has been in nonprofit - and mostly health care and human services," she said.

Carolus credited her parents for teaching her the importance of family and of giving back to the community. She and her husband, Bryan, have four children - two at University of Iowa - a son who's a junior at Treynor High School and a daughter who's a sophomore at Treynor.

They are involved in sports and church activities.

"It's fun having busy, active kids," she said. "If there's any downtime, I enjoy reading, running, going to the lake."