Renee Hardman

Cherry Renee Hardman (born 1960 or 1961) She is an alumna of Delta Sigma Theta.

Upon graduating, Hardman worked at social services organization Mainstream Living from 1983 until 1987 and then for the state of Iowa until 1994 as a training officer until joining the human services department of Bankers Trust in 1996. Hardman was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 2014. In July 2018, she was named CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Iowa. Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines announced Hardman as its president of human resources and chief diversity officer in April 2022. In January 2024, she was appointed president and CEO of Lutheran Services in Iowa.

Additionally, Hardman served as a Des Moines University trustee from 2001 to 2017.

Political career West Des Moines City Council Hardman speaks at a Kamala Harris campaign rally in West Des Moines in 2019. In November 2017, Hardman defeated incumbent at-large West Des Moines city councilmember Rick Messerschmidt by 70 votes. Her election marked the first time a Black woman was elected to the city's council. She listed addressing affordable housing, working with West Des Moines schools to promote diversity, and passing a welcoming city ordinance as priorities at her swearing-in.

Hardman pushed the council to unanimously end the city's private security contract with The Conley Group in August 2021 after a The Des Moines Register article exposed insensitive comments made by the firm's owner, Tom Conley, amidst the George Floyd protests. He then sued the city and its council for alleged defamation, tortious interference, and retaliation, and claiming his First Amendment rights were violated. The lawsuit was dismissed by a district court in March 2024 but Conley appealed the decision, leading to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to reverse the motion to dismiss the retaliation and tortious interference claims in November 2025.

Iowa Senate In October 2025, Hardman was selected as the Iowa Democratic Party's nominee for the December 30th special election to replace Claire Celsi, who died while in hospice. The election garnered attention as a Republican win would restore the party's supermajority in the chamber, which it lost following two other special elections held that year, albeit the district leans Democratic and Kamala Harris received about 58% of the district's vote in the 2024 presidential election. Hardman defeated Republican nominee Lucas Loftin on election night, becoming the first Black woman elected to the Iowa Senate.