“My passion is helping young people fulfill their potential. As I tell young people at Reach for Youth, there is no golden ticket in life except for your diploma.”

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Age: 38

CEO, Reach for Youth Inc.

In just four years, Michelle Study-Campbell has put Reach for Youth on firm financial footing while expanding its staff and services. The not-for-profit offers counseling to Indiana youth and their families and works with the juvenile justice system by operating a nationally recognized teen court for non-violent first offenders.

“When I came onboard, Reach for Youth was in a pretty tough spot,” said Study-Campbell, who previously worked at the Indianapolis Private Industry Council and Indiana Department of Workforce Development. “I came in and focused on raising revenue, then after four months took a step back and looked at the operation.”

What she saw was a place that was under billing for counseling services and in need of more staff and better business practices.

“Part of the issue was, we weren’t billing Medicaid the way that we should,” she said. Today, Reach for Youth has 25 paid employees and many volunteers and serves about 1,600 clients a year.

“We see young people who really are going down a really bad path. They’re maybe 15, 16 years old, have two credits toward graduation, haven’t sat in a classroom in six months, in addition to being arrested for battery or theft or vandalism,” said Study-Campbell, who grew up on a farm in southern Indiana, where she attended the then girls-only Oldenburg Academy before moving on to Marian University.

Outside of work, she mentors a teenage girl in her neighborhood, helping her with homework, volunteering together and making plans to visit colleges.

Study-Campbell also co-chairs the Junior League’s annual Holiday Mart, its main fundraiser, and was co-chair of the marketing committee for the 2012 Super Bowl Legacy Project.

She and her husband, graphic artist Michael Campbell, live on the east side.•