Notable Alumni
- Rob Barron, Class of 1998, Co-Founder of Latino Political Network, Member of DMPS School Board (2013-21), Des Moines City Council Member (2026-present)
- Ben Silbermann, Class of 1999, Co-Founder of Pinterest
- Feng Zhang, PhD, Class of 2000, Biochemist & a Leader in the field of Optogenetics & CRISPR
- Dr. Austin Baeth, Class of 2003, Internist & Member of the Iowa House of Representatives
- Dr. Alexendra May, Class of 2006, Doctor of Ophthalmology
- Vi Nguyen, Class of 2007, Co-founder of Viet Advocacy in Iowa & QuestBridge Analyst, former Central Alumni board member
- Arnold Woods III, Class of 2007, Director of Student Leadership at Iowa State University
- Max Hawkins, Class of 2009, Tech Specialist, co-creator of Dialup, World Traveler, & TED speaker
- Dionna Langford, Class of 2009, Des Moines Public Schools Board Member (2015-2019), Social Worker
- Thao Pham, Class of 2009, Matthew Shepard Scholar, IT Specialist, stand-up comic, former Central Alumni board member
- Edgar Rosa, Class of 2009, Filmmaker & Producer, former Central Alumni board member
- Conner Spinks, Class of 2009, Truman Scholar, prevention and outreach specialist
- James Kent, PhD, Class of 2010, Neuroinformatic Researcher, University of Texas
- Joel Schneider, PhD, Class of 2011, Leading Researcher at the University of Minnesota
- Mark Gee, Class of 2013, Agricultural Researcher
- Kevin Li, Class of 2014, Legislative Fellow in Artificial Intelligence, U.S. Senate
- Dr. Emily Larson, Class of 2018, Physician
Former Instructors
- Jean Ellerhoff, 1985-2012, English instructor, former English Department chair, had a different book to read in each of the rooms in her house.
- Dr. Thomas Forsgren, 1989-2015, Social Studies and former chair; world-traveler and director of the Global Youth Institute; was also an adjunct instructor at DMACC
- Jeff Hepburn, 2000-2012, Science instructor, coached science bowl team, gave away DMPA tickets, put on magic shows, and even played chess with students. Received the James Bryant Conant Award in 2010.
- Denis Hildreth, 2008-2019, English instructor, Hoover High School named its Auditorium after him in 2008 & a yearly award is given out in his honor.
- Giovanni Leo, 2001-2024, Italian language and culture instructor, took students on a yearly trip to Italy.
- Michael Link, 1986-2021, Mathematics instructor, coached Math competition teams, had a toy collection
- Sachiko Murphy, 1984-2014, Japanese language and culture instructor, took students on a yearly trip to Japan, organized hosting of Japanese students from Koma & Yamanashi Gakuin high schools.
- Scott Schoneberg, 1988-2021, Computer science and science instructor, avid runner, cross country coach.
- Susan Stroope, 1995-2010, Science instructor, biology specialist, and participant in The World Food Prize.
- Joseph Zimmerman, 1999-2008, Mathematics instructor, received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching
Know someone who should be added to our lists? Please notify us at [email protected].