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.”
Gregg Keesling developed and directs the operations at RecycleForce, an organization focused on electronic recycling and helping those coming home from prison gain a better life. The organization’s employment model provides stepped-up employment—better jobs, higher pay, more responsibilities—as the employee adheres to mandates such as drug testing, anger management classes and counseling. Keesling started RecycleForce in 2004 and has overseen construction of a 120,000-square-foot recycling facility at Sherman Park.
Lesson learned: “On June 19, 2009, our son died by suicide from undiagnosed traumatic brain injury and PTSD on his second deployment to Iraq. When he was calling from Iraq, in obvious distress, I was the father who said, ‘Be a man, get over it.’ What I learned is that everyone has trauma and stress. Those we serve at RecycleForce have seen more trauma than our son did in two deployments to Iraq. My lesson is to be more forgiving to those who have committed crimes and be forgiving when they come home.”
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
Daniel Elsener became the eighth president of what was then Marian College in 2001 and has devoted himself to growing Marian University in both scope and magnitude. In 2023, Marian launched the E. S. Witchger School of Engineering. The university also launched the Klipsch Educators College seven years ago. The college’s Center for Vibrant Schools has partnered with K-12 schools to improve education for more than 50,000 students with a special focus in literacy and in implementing the City Connects program that helps schools address out-of-school challenges that affect student achievement. Prior to Marian, Elsener was executive director of the Christel DeHaan Family Foundation and Project E Indiana.
Favorite thing about about leading: “I get a chance to use my gifts and talents to improve individual lives and advance the common good.”
Advice for a young person: “Give a generous effort in your concern for others and be a learner throughout your life!”
Dennis Bland has spent 37 years with the Center for Leadership Development—13 as a volunteer, then 24 years as employee—helping prepare African American youth for academic, college and career achievement. He has helped the organization complete a $33 million campaign to expand program capacity and developed partnerships with 25 higher educational institutions that awarded more than $6 million in combined scholarships to the center’s 2024 CLD Scholars.
First job: Parking attendant at the Indiana State Fair, “a great lesson in responsibility, accountability and relationships.”
Challenge overcome: “The passing of my mother when I was 5 years old. As challenging as it was for me, I am sure it was the greater challenge for my father, who shouldered the unimaginable responsibility of raising me and my seven siblings.”
Worries about: “The damaging environments and influences to which our youth are exposed and the many deleterious activities that are overwhelming our homes, neighborhoods, cities and our society and culture.”
Jose Padilla is president of Valparaiso University, a private Lutheran school with about 2,800 students, 846 faculty and staff, a budget of about $110 million and an endowment of about $300 million. He took the job in December 2020, becoming the university’s 19th president. He manages an academic enterprise that has five colleges offering liberal arts and sciences and professional programs such as engineering, social work and nursing and physician assistant programs. Padilla created the Access College, which provides an associate’s degree to first-generation, low-income college students, and led the development of a five-year strategic plan and a review of all current academic and operational programs. He also manages a NCAA Division I athletics program with 19 teams in the Missouri Valley Conference. He previously served as vice president, university counsel and secretary of the University of Colorado system.
First job: Dishwasher. “It showed me the strength of the working men and women of our nation.”
Surprising: “I’m an avid weightlifter.”
Walkup music: “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC.
Geoffrey S. Mearns became the 17th president of Ball State University in May 2017. Under his tenure, Ball State had the largest freshman class in its history and increased alumni engagement and fundraising. He has strengthened the university’s relationship with the community, most notably through its partnership with Muncie Community Schools, and in a survey of May 2023 graduates, the university found that 80% of those employed are working in Indiana. Last December, Ball State University received a $35 million Lilly Endowment Inc. grant to revitalize The Village, the commercial district adjacent to Ball State’s campus.
Advice to a young person: “Say yes. When your supervisor comes to you and asks you to take on a new project, say yes. When you’re invited to lunch with somebody—a colleague, a more experienced person in your company or field of business—say yes. Saying yes fosters growth, collaboration, empowerment, innovation and enjoyment in life.”
Worries about: “The declining number of establishments offering vanilla chocolate chip ice cream—my favorite flavor.”
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.”
Fred Payne became president and CEO of the United Way of Central Indiana in July 2022 with a goal of helping 10,000 central Indiana households escape from poverty within five years. He has launched a strategy focusing on the leading indicators of poverty for residents of central Indiana: basic needs (food, transportation, shelter, etc.); early child care and learning; safe and affordable housing; and economic mobility. Payne previously served as commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and led Indiana’s response to the extreme unemployment brought on by the pandemic. Under his tenure, thousands of Hoosiers were enrolled in job training and credential programs, including work-based learning and apprenticeships.
Something surprising: “I enjoy riding motorcycles and the feeling of speed and freedom on a sport bike. I also enjoy the study of horology. Time pieces and the art of watchmaking fascinate me.”
Walk-up song: “Good Day” by Forrest Frank
After serving as President and CEO of Rdoor Housing Corp. for three years and for decades in affordable housing, Bruce Baird has made plans this summer to step down from the organization and retire. Rdoor, founded in 1987 as Merchants Affordable Housing Corp., is one of Indiana’s largest not-for-profit affordable housing providers. Baird expanded Rdoor’s affordable housing portfolio to more than 3,000 units across 24 unique properties in Indianapolis, Gary and South Bend. He also developed enhanced asset management programs for RDOOR’s communities. He previously served as executive director of Renew Indianapolis and as the president of Insight Development, the real estate development arm of the Indianapolis Housing Agency. Prior to Insight, Baird worked in leadership positions for the city of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership and Eastside Community Investments.
