Katie Jenner leads the Indiana Department of Education and chairs the State Board of Education, overseeing a budget of more than $10 billion, more than 2,200 schools, 1.13 million students and 80,000-plus teachers and administrators. She has secured a $170 million investment in literacy, allowing the department to deploy solutions aimed at achieving Indiana’s goal of 95% of third-graders reading at grade level by 2027. Under her leadership, the state is rethinking high school, focusing on increasing flexibility in diploma requirements while maintaining rigor, increasing access to high-quality work-based learning, and increasing access to credentials of value before graduation.
First job: Summer swim instructor “was really my first ‘teaching’ role. … While being a lifeguard involved being around friends and getting a good suntan, it also involved cleaning all of the public bathrooms. With every job, there is good that is seen by all, but there is also the roll-up your sleeves and cleaning up the messes kind of work too.”
Walk-up song: “Thunder,” by Imagine Dragons
Karen Plaut oversees Purdue University’s Office of Research, which brings together researchers and resources to drive discoveries designed to improve health outcomes, protect the environment while finding efficient energy sources, strengthen national defense, support infrastructure, enhance the digital economy through artificial intelligence and ensure food security. Its active research portfolio is $2.8 billion. Previously, Plaut led mammary gland biology and breast cancer research at the University of Vermont. She then joined NASA and served as lead scientist for International Space Station biological research building life sciences habitats for zero gravity. She joined Purdue in 2010 as associate dean of research in the College of Agriculture.
Advice for a young person: Take advantage of opportunities when they come, even if they’re not part of your career trajectory. “I had the rare opportunity to send animals up on the space shuttle with NASA to experience microgravity. It was not something I expected to do, but it sounded like fun. It led to many additional opportunities.”
Latha Ramchand is the first chancellor of Indiana University Indianapolis. Her goal is “to provide relevant, rigorous and affordable education that meets the state’s most pressing workforce needs. This includes graduating more students that are tech- and industry-ready, especially in the bio- and life-science areas and upskilling our current workforce in Indiana by offering adult learner certification programs.” Ramchand was born and raised in India and was a first-generation college student. She started her higher-education career at the University of Houston and ultimately served as dean of the College of Business. In 2018, she became executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of Missouri.
Leadership lesson: “Leadership is not a title; rather, it is a privilege that has to be earned every day. As a wise person said, ‘Your title makes you a manager and your people make you a leader.'”
Advice for a young person: “Embrace the opportunities and the challenges. Your challenges make you stronger and lead you to your next big assignment.”
Christopher M. Pietruszkiewicz began his tenure as 24th president of the University of Evansville in 2018. Under his leadership, the university was awarded a $30 million Promise Neighborhood grant from the U.S. Department of Education—with a total investment of $62 million, including matching funds—to address generational poverty. The Evansville Promise Neighborhood provides cradle-to-career services for six schools in an area that includes four ZIP codes and affects 18% of the Vanderburgh County population. He also oversaw the establishment of the UE Mental Health and Wellness Clinic and Emily M. Young Assessment Center, addressing critical community mental health needs, and helped the institution achieve the second- and third-highest fundraising years in its 170-year history.
First job: McDonald’s. “I was very good at making fries and even made the secret Big Mac sauce when the store ran out.”
Something surprising: “I wear Purple Nike Dunk Low Tops on Fridays to the office.”
Laura Berry is executive director of the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence and a nationally recognized expert in domestic violence. Her work includes overseeing and coordinating statewide training and technical assistance for all domestic violence programs in Indiana. In the last biennial budget, she helped increase statewide funding for domestic violence services from $6 million to $9 million, and she received $2.5 million in funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to implement health equity strategies to prevent domestic violence and evaluate Indiana’s paid-leave policy. She was a 2023 IBJ Woman of Influence.
Something surprising: “I share a birthday with D-Day: 6/6/66 [same day, different year]. As you can imagine, my identification gets a second glance and you know my age, but my birthday has driven my interest in history and the history of cemeteries.”
Advice for a young person: “Listen and learn: It makes you a stronger and a better leader.”
Pet: Koda, a Great Pyrenees, adopted from the Humane Society five years ago
Claire J. Fiddian-Green joined the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation as president and CEO in 2015. Under her leadership, the foundation’s initiatives have included the $15 million College Matters program, which is designed to help public high schools in Marion County boost college enrollment rates, including for their student populations with historically lower enrollment rates. She also has co-led an effort called iLab Indiana, which is designed to scale youth apprenticeship experiences statewide across multiple industry sectors in which there are large and growing talent gaps. Previously, Fiddian-Green served as special assistant for education innovation to Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and was co-founder of the Center for Education and Career Innovation.
Favorite gadget: “I love to read, so that would have to be my e-reader.”
Advice for a young person: “Focus on what you can control, work hard and always ask what else you can be doing to contribute to the organization, and make it a priority to build your network.”
Jennett Hill was elected to the board of Lilly Endowment Inc.—a private foundation supporting community development, education and religion—in 2015. Seven years later, she was elected president. Previously, she served as senior vice president and general counsel for Citizens Energy Group. She currently serves as on the board of the Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation and the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce. A former partner of the law firm of Faegre Baker Daniels LLP (now Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath), she specialized in tax-exempt and nonprofit law.
Early job: Cleaning the stairwell in the three-story apartment building where her family lived on a military base in Berlin, Germany. “It taught me responsibility, the value of hard work and the importance of delivering good customer service.”
Pets: A miniature schnoodle puppy, Elsa, “whose antics generate a level of joy and laughter that rivals most popular sitcoms.”
Robert Coons became Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s president on Nov. 15, 2018, and has helped the college maintain its status as the nation’s No. 1-ranked undergraduate engineering college for 25 consecutive years. Under his leadership, Rose-Hulman’s student body has become more diverse and inclusive and attracts some of the world’s top scholars seeking a specialized undergraduate STEM education. The school completed a new 70,000-square-foot academic building in 2021, completed renovation of the core classroom building in 2023, and, in fall 2025, is scheduled to open a new first-year-student residence hall. Coons has been with Rose-Hulman for nearly 35 years.
First job: In the meat department at Ford’s Grocery in Centerville. “That job taught me what hard work and building strong positive relationships with customers and employees could do to advance your lot in life, and how valuable those connections can be.”
Leadership lesson: “Patience, tenacity and focus are the three keys to success in leading a group or organization.”
Dave Neff leads Purdue University’s name, image and likeness collective, which empowers student-athletes “to become champions in their sport and in their communities.” The Boilermaker Alliance is responsible for generating revenue that works with Purdue coaches and administrators to attract elite athletes to Purdue. Neff’s career in sports and entertainment has ranged from software to philanthropy to professional services. In 2022, he received the John C. Lechleiter Award from Providence Cristo Rey High School for championing and advancing the school’s corporate work-study program.
First job: Youth soccer official, which “taught me conflict resolution, quick decision-making, good judgment and how to manage a broad array of stakeholders.”
Something surprising: He’s never had a cavity.
Challenge overcome: Being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at the age of 15. “Learning to manage and navigate that chronic disease for nearly the past 25 years has given me more resilience, empathy and gratitude for the opportunities and challenges in life.”
In 2021, Judge Tanya Walton Pratt became the first person of color to be chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. This milestone followed her 2010 appointment as a district judge, which made her the first Black federal judge in Indiana history. In her role as chief judge, she oversees day-to-day court administration of one of the state’s two federal district courts. Pratt, a graduate of Howard University School of Law, previously served as supervising judge of the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center. She currently serves on the board of the Federal Judges Association and Marion County Bar Association.
Lesson learned: “You can’t do it all. Surround yourself with a well-qualified team and delegate. Trust the leaders of the organization to do their jobs.”
Worry: Climate change. “The planet is changing rapidly, and I worry about the world we are leaving for my grandchildren.”
