By Jonathan Turner, Hola America
Alexandra Olsen already has packed a lot into her 31 years, zooming from a newspaper intern to top editor of two publications (Corridor Business Journal and Quad Cities Business Journal) in the past decade.
Born in the southernmost state in Brazil, Olsen (with two younger brothers) moved to Bettendorf, Iowa when she was 8. Her father died in a car accident when she was a month old, and her mom remarried an American, who worked for John Deere as an engineer in Brazil, and continued with Deere in the U.S.
Olsen graduated from Pleasant Valley High in 2013, after being in 20 stage productions and writing for the school paper. Her family often returned to Brazil to visit relatives and her grandmother (who worked as a confectioner) made special treats for her October 2018 wedding. “When she was working, she would make treats for weddings and birthdays. And in Brazil, that’s a big cultural thing,” Olsen said recently, noting she specialized in brigaderos (fudge balls).
“It was so incredible to have all of them up here. My aunts, my grandparents, everybody in my mom’s kitchen, like my childhood home, making these confectionaries for my wedding,” she recalled. “That was such a full circle moment.”
Olsen and her husband Cody have a five-year-old daughter. She earned her associate’s degree at Black Hawk College, Moline, where she took her first journalism classes and graduated magna cum laude, before finishing her bachelor’s at Columbia College Chicago.
“I really started to fall in love with writing. And writing was always my strongest subject,” Olsen said of Black Hawk. “English and writing, which is funny because English is my second language. The more artistic pursuits were always my strongest suit.” She loved theater and journalism both for the power of telling other people’s stories.
“Journalism and theater to me are very similar in the way that you can try some different lives on, and you can see things from different perspectives through other people’s eyes,” she said. “In journalism, you’re getting to see a glimpse into those characters, those real-life characters, and tell those stories. And it’s another way of storytelling, too. And storytelling has always been a huge part of me.”
Olsen interned at the Moline Dispatch in summer 2016, then at the Chicago Sun-Times that fall, which coincided with the Cubs winning the World Series, sending all its reporters out to get the public’s thoughts amidst a massive parade.
“The Chicago River was dyed Cubbie blue. Millions of people were in that city,” she said. “And there were people all around me and you couldn’t move.”
“Working at the Sun-Times was really cool and I got to learn from working journalists and some really awesome editors and that team was inspiring,” Olsen said. Another career highlight was going with Sun-Times staff to cover the 2017 presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C. as well as the Women’s March the day after, Jan. 21, attended by 470,000 women.
“It was a multimedia class, so it was really about gathering that content,” she said. “It was such an incredible experience. Just a lesson in like, American civility and I can’t even put into words to see that many people, marching and really exercising their rights was something that has shaped me the remainder of my life.”
Before starting at Corridor Business Journal, Olsen worked two years as digital editor for Cedar Rapids Gazette, and two and half years as marketing director for NewBo City Market in Cedar Rapids. She had her daughter in March 2021, and appreciated joining the small, family-focused CBJ team in April 2022 as digital editor.
Olsen moved up the editing ladder quickly — promoted to managing editor by December 2022, then editor by December 2023 and this spring, editor for the QC journal as well.
“It’s been a whirlwind, but it’s been fantastic,” she said. “Now I manage both newsrooms, not just one.” The CBJ and QCBJ each have two full-time reporters, and publish in print alternating weeks, updating their websites daily with several new stories. They have an ad sales team, and copy/design team that work for both.
“Alexandra has been an extraordinary leader for our organization. Beginning her journey as Digital Editor, she rose through the ranks with remarkable vision, determination, and purpose — and hasn’t looked back since,” John F. Lohman, Corridor Media CEO, posted on LinkedIn.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have her at the helm of both newsrooms as we navigate an ever-evolving media landscape,” he said. Lohman founded the CBJ in 2004, and the sister publication QCBJ in 2021.
Photo by Jonathan Turner, Hola America
“We really focus on sticking to our business coverage. We don’t cover politics. We don’t cover like courts or crime unless that has something to do with business or is of interest to the business community,” Olsen said, noting their purpose is “to shine a spotlight on the entrepreneurs and the business leaders that are making a difference in our communities and that are creating these communities that are great places to live and work.
“It’s been an incredible experience to get to see the growth of not only the Corridor, but the Quad Cities also through that lens,” Olsen said. “Obviously there are a lot of different ways that a community can grow, but I think the business lens is so visceral. It’s such a tangible way to see growth.”
The publications also look at Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois as a whole region. “There are so many stories that we tell that not only work for the CBJ, but also work for the QCBJ and vice versa. There’s so many companies that have headquarters here that also work there that, we like to see that as even a wider regional lens,” she said. This year, they launched quarterly combined issues of both papers, which began March 30.
Each will have a theme – the first was construction and development, with Russell as the cover story.
The journals serve as a networking opportunity for employers and employees, Olsen said. “Use it as a way to inform themselves about opportunities. And not just like the leaders who are employing people, but also the employees. Think about how inspired you could be from reading a story about an entrepreneur,” she said.
The company also hosts regular presentations, panels, and awards, such as Women of Influence (which CBJ started in 2004) and Leaders Under 40.
Raising awareness of women and diversity have long been hallmarks for the CBJ, and now QCBJ, Olsen said. Her bicultural background deeply informs her commitment to inclusive storytelling and championing diverse voices in business journalism.
Under Olsen’s editorial direction, the CBJ has earned recognition from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers. It received the Most Improved Publication award in 2023, with judges praising improvements in design and editorial quality. The CBJ has earned bronze awards for Best Newspaper and Best Overall Design in 2024, and in 2025 received gold for Best Feature Single Story and bronze for its podcast “Real Success with Nate Kaeding,” among other awards.
At 30, Olsen was named a 2024 Forty Under 40 honoree, recognizing her impact as a young professional leader in Iowa’s Corridor region.
Photo by Jonathan Turner, Hola America
“Just highlighting that journey for women in business is so important,” she said. “We also have nonprofit leaders that are awarded that. We cover mostly business. We also cover the nonprofit sector because we do believe that that is such an important piece to the economic development puzzle.”
“Women in business, they’re all so incredible. They’re facing these challenges that we want to know about,” Olsen said. “Forty Under 40 has been a huge program for us. I was a 40 Under 40 for the CBJ, which I have nothing to do with choosing the 40 Under 40.”
“We want to highlight inspirational business stories regardless of who it is,” she said. “It’s really cool to see these women and the 40 under 40, whoever it is that we award. We are highlighting them, but it’s really just like the first stepping stone to see where their career goes.”
The large Latino community in the QC brings culture, style and employment, she noted. “John Deere brings so many Brazilians to the Quad Cities area. We have our own parties and things and just looking at the way that immigrant communities can bring life and color into our world is so incredible.
“I grew up in the Quad Cities, so obviously that was a big piece of why having this new position meant so much to me. But also thinking about that cultural piece of like how different the Quad Cities is from the Corridor and I like the different ways that our communities are embracing those cultures,” Olsen said.
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