CEO of Proteus, Inc., Mid-Iowa Health Foundation Board Member, and HealthConnect Fellow
Dr. Daniel Zinnel joined the Mid-Iowa Health Foundation Board of Directors in 2023 and serves on the Grant Committee and Audit Committee. He has served as the CEO of Proteus, Inc. since August 2019 and has worked with the organization for nearly fifteen years. Daniel brings more than fifteen years of nonprofit administration and leadership experience, including his time at Proteus and previously as the Executive Director of One Iowa.
He holds a Doctorate of Education in Leadership from Creighton University, an M.A. in Health Studies from the University of Alabama, a B.A. in Liberal Arts with minors in Sociology and Psychology from Grand View University, and an A.A. from Iowa Central Community College. He is currently pursuing an Executive Master of Public Health through the Yale University School of Public Health.
Daniel serves on the boards of UnityPoint Health–Des Moines, the Iowa Primary Care Association, the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, and other boards and advisory committees.
His recognitions include the LGBTQ Legacy Leader Award (2024) and induction into the Iowa Central Community College Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame (2025). He has also been named the 2018 Influencer of the Year by the Young Professionals Connection and a Des Moines Register Young Professional of the Year, and received the Community Vision Award for Challenging from the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute. He is a graduate of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute’s Community Leadership Program (2017), was named a Des Moines Business Record Forty Under 40 honoree (2015), and received the Karen Packer Spirit of Collaboration Award at the Iowa Cancer Summit (2012).
Dr. Daniel Zinnel participated in Cohort 2 of HealthConnect Fellowship from October 2019-June 2021.
