Education Power Breakfast

Sue Ellspermann has served as President of Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana since 2016. Ivy Tech is the nation’s largest singly accredited statewide community college, serving nearly 200,000 students with more than 70 programs and 19 campuses across Indiana and online. More than 90,000 of these students are earning college credit while in high school, making Ivy Tech the nation’s largest NACEP accredited institution.

Ellspermann’s focus has been to align programs and credentials to meet industry needs and ensure access, quality, and affordability to all Hoosiers. Under her leadership, Ivy Tech launched the first Industry 4.0 associate degree and Ivy+ Career Link, a transformative approach to career development services. Ellspermann led the development of Ivy Tech’s new strategic plan, Higher Education at the Speed of Life, which focuses on scale, innovation, and agility to ensure student success and meet Indiana’s talent upskilling needs.

Prior to leading Ivy Tech, Ellspermann served as Indiana’s 50th Lieutenant Governor. In this capacity, she served as President of the Senate, Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and oversaw six state agencies. Ellspermann co-chaired the Blue Ribbon Panel on Transportation Infrastructure and led trade missions to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China.

Ellspermann represented District 74 in rural southwest Indiana in the state House of Representatives from 2010 to 2012. From 2006 to 2012, Ellspermann served as the founding Director of the Center of Applied Research and Economic Development at the University of Southern Indiana (USI).

Ellspermann’s educational and workforce development experience is extensive. As Lieutenant Governor, she served as vice chair of the Indiana Career Council, tasked to align Indiana’s education and workforce development system to meet employer needs. She also served on the Indiana State Workforce Investment Board. As a legislator, Ellspermann served on Commerce and Labor committees and co-authored Right-to-Work legislation that has since attracted robust economic development to Indiana. In 2016, Ellspermann participated in the Hunt-Kean Leadership Fellows, a program that convenes reform-oriented state leaders to study best practices and policy in education and workforce.

During the 20 years prior to her tenure at USI, Ellspermann owned and operated an independent consulting firm licensed in the training and facilitation of Simplex Creative Problem Solving. Early in her career, she held operations and engineering positions at Frito-Lay, Michelin Tire Corporation, and General Motors.

Ellspermann holds a Ph.D. and M.S. from the University of Louisville in Industrial Engineering and a B.S. from Purdue University in Industrial Engineering. Ellspermann’s dissertation was recognized as a Top 50 management research article in 2007 by Emerald Management Review.

Ellspermann chairs the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Board of Directors and serves on the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet, Indiana Chamber, Indy Chamber, Applied Research Institute, Strada Education Foundation and Center for Leadership Development boards. Her corporate board service includes OneAmerica, German American Bancorp, and OFS.

She and her husband Jim Mehling have a blended family of four daughters, three sons-in-law, six grandsons, and three granddaughters.

Claire Fiddian-Green joined the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation as President and Chief Executive Officer in 2015. In this role, she collaborates with the Board of Directors to define the Foundation’s goals and funding strategies and oversees implementation of the Foundation’s mission and operations.

Previously, Fiddian-Green served as Special Assistant for Education Innovation to Indiana Governor Mike Pence and Co-Founder of the Center for Education and Career Innovation. Fiddian-Green also served as the founding Executive Director of the Indiana Charter School Board, a statewide charter school authorizing agency. Prior roles include President of The Mind Trust, Grants Officer for the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, and Senior Analyst within Eli Lilly & Company’s Corporate Finance Investment Banking group. Fiddian-Green holds a B.A. from Brown University and an M.B.A. from Columbia University. She is a member of Class XXXIV of the Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership Series and has been named twice to IBJ Media’s annual edition of Indiana 250 – the most influential business leaders in Indiana. In 2022, she was recognized among IBJ’s 2022 Women of Influence, and she also received the Circle of Hope Award from Community Fairbanks Recovery Center for outstanding contributions to the field of addiction.

Fiddian-Green serves on the Board and Executive Committee of the Indy Chamber, where she also chairs the Health Policy Council. She serves on the boards of the Mitch Daniels Leadership Foundation, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, Regenstrief Institute and CareerWise USA. She served as President of The Economic Club of Indiana for the 2017-2018 season and is a current Board and Executive Committee member. She also served as Co-Chair of the Legacy Impact Committee for the 2022 Indy College Football Playoff, Inc. and was a member of the Board and Executive Committee from 2018 through 2022. In November 2020, she was appointed co-chair of the Learning and Talent Opportunities Taskforce of the Business Equity for Indy Committee, a joint initiative of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership and the Indy Chamber, in partnership with the Indianapolis Urban League, focused on addressing racial inequities in Central Indiana. She also serves on the Business Equity for Indy Management Committee.

Todd Huston of Fishers was first elected in 2012 as state representative for the constituents of House District 37, which includes a portion of Hamilton County. Huston was first selected by House members to serve as Indiana House Speaker in 2020 and he currently leads the 100-member chamber, including the 70-member Republican supermajority.

Thanks in part to Huston's strong push for tax cuts during the 2023 legislative session, taxpayers are expected to save an estimated $430 million over the next two years via tax relief. Thanks to the acceleration of individual state income tax cuts, hardworking Hoosiers will have one of the lowest rates in the nation by 2027. In 2022, Huston spearheaded the passage of a $1 billion tax-relief package to support hardworking Hoosiers – the largest tax cut in state history. The law also lowered utility bills for Hoosiers and businesses by eliminating the 1.46% Utility Receipts Tax paid on electricity, natural gas, water, steam, sewage and telephone bills.

Indiana's new budget continues significant investments in K-12 education as student funding support will increase by 10% over the next two years. In addition, parents no longer pay textbook and curricular fees. Huston successfully led efforts to substantially expand school choice, and now nearly all Hoosier families can send their child to the school that best meets their needs. Huston received the 2021 Champion of School Choice Award from the Institute for Quality Education for supporting a significant expansion of Indiana's Choice Scholarship program. 

Huston helped lead the creation of the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) in 2021 with a $500 million investment to promote community collaboration and growth. On average, every dollar provided by the state has been matched with $26 from outside entities that will attract and develop talent and enhance the quality of life of current and future generations of Hoosiers. In 2023, he supported directing another $500 million to support READI 2.0. Through this transformative program, regions created a strong vision for the future and applied for competitive grants.  In total, READI will create an economic investment of over $13 billion for communities across Indiana.

Huston previously served on the Hamilton Southeastern School Board, Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation Board, Fishers Planning Commission and Indiana Leadership Forum Board of Directors. Additionally, former Gov. Mitch Daniels twice called on Huston to serve the state, first with a four-year term as a member of the Indiana State Board of Education, and from 2006 to 2009 as a member of the Indiana Education Roundtable.

Huston and his wife, Denise, reside in Fishers and have two adult children, Elizabeth and Jake.

Chris Lowery was appointed in 2022 as Indiana’s Commissioner for Higher Education with the commitment to increasing college-going and completion rates, engaging adult learners, and retaining college graduates. 

Prior to the Commission, Lowery was senior VP at Ivy Tech Community College leading workforce and career initiatives. Before working in higher education, Lowery held multiple leadership roles at Hillenbrand, Inc. 

Lowery is a member of the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet. He holds a B.S. in Public Affairs (Indiana University) and an M.S. in Management (Indiana Wesleyan University). Lowery and his wife Jerilyn live in Batesville and have two children and two grandchildren.

Dennis Murphy is president and chief executive officer for Indiana University Health, the largest integrated healthcare system that provides approximately 30% of all care delivered in the state through its 16 hospitals, and over 300 clinical sites. He joined the health system in 2013 as chief operating officer.

Before joining IU Health, he served as COO and executive vice president at Northwestern Memorial HealthCare in Chicago. Additionally, Murphy was vice president of Ambulatory Services and Financial Planning for University of Chicago Hospitals, and before that he spent 10 years at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore in a variety of roles, from administrative fellow to administrator of the Department of Medicine.

Murphy earned a master of healthcare administration degree from Duke University, and a bachelor of arts degree from University of Notre Dame. He is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health.

Murphy serves on the boards of Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, Indiana Hospital Association, IU Health Foundation, Riley Children’s Foundation, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP), National Bank of Indianapolis and Indiana Health Information Exchange (IHIE). Murphy has chaired the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Transparency Task Force since 2019.

Fred is currently serving as Chief Partnership Officer at Providence Cristo Rey High School and works with the schools unique Corporate Work Study program that connects high school students with meaningful corporate internships throughout Indianapolis. Fred has been with Providence Cristo Rey for 7 years and has led the school in diverse positions such as Interim President, Vice President, Vice Principal of Mission and Culture and Dean of Students.

Fred has a background in education/community building that spans over 17 years. He has served in various roles such as directing after-school programing and summer programing for the 100 Black Men of Indianapolis. He received his Masters of Arts in Education from Marian University and has an undergraduate degree from Kentucky State University in Public Administration.

Fred is married to Danijel Yeakey and together they have three children and expecting their 4th child in June 2024.

Education:

• MAT, Marian University, 2017
• BA, Public Administration, Kentucky State University 2001

Awards recognition:

• Indianapolis Business Journal 40 Under 40 – 2022
• Stanley K. Lacy | Leadership Indianapolis – Class XLV
• Junior Achievement of Central Indiana – Indy’s Best and Brightest in Education 2020
• Kentucky State University Distinguish Alumni Under 40 - 2020