Then: Cancer Support Community—Central Indiana CEO
Now: Powers (4) Good president & chief bridge builder
Age: 43
After 5-1/2 years running the Cancer Support Community and 18 months as president and CEO of the Madame Walker Theatre Center Inc., Kathleen Spears was being recruited for a job in Dallas. She credits her friend (and fellow Forty Under 40 honoree) Michele Jackson with convincing her to stay in Indianapolis and use her powers for good. Hence the name of her consulting business.
Her clients include the Junior League (which hired her to build up its annual Holiday Mart fundraiser) and former Indianapolis Colts player Gary Brackett (helping him determine how best to invest in the community). Last year, Spears said, she billed more than $100,000, and this year she’s expecting to double that. She has also added a grant writer and is going after Minority and Women Business Enterprise certification.
The new position plays to her strengths. “When I started out,” she said, “I asked people, ‘What do you think I do well?’ And they said, ‘You’re really good at connecting people who have interest in investing in community organizations that they can feel good about giving their money to.’”•
—Marc D. Allan
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