Innovate East Central - Muncie

Steve Baker is president and chief operation officer of Indiana Michigan Power (I&M). His team is responsible for providing electric service to approximately 600,000 customers in Indiana and Michigan. Baker oversees I&M's distribution operations, safety, customer service, communications, finance, external affairs and regulatory functions.

Baker previously served as vice president, distribution operations for Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and was responsible for the safe and reliable operation of the electric distribution system for approximately 550,000 customers throughout Oklahoma.

Baker began his career as a distribution engineer in 1990 with West Texas Utilities in Abilene, Texas and held a variety of leadership positions at AEP Texas.

Baker received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Texas Tech University. He is a graduate of the Nuclear Reactor Technology Course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Executive Program-Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and the Texas A&M Management Development Program.

Community service and economic development within the I&M service territory are key focus areas for Baker. He serves as a member of the board of directors for the Indiana State Chamber of Commerce, the Indiana Energy Association, Greater Fort Wayne, Inc, the Northeast Indiana Council of CEOs and the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership. Baker is also a member of the Texas Tech University Whitacre College of Engineering Dean's Council.

Ted A. Baker is the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Muncie Innovation Connector, Inc. (IC), an independent mixed-use business incubator with a strong technology focus serving entrepreneurs throughout East Central Indiana. Now in his sixteenth year leading the Innovation Connector, Ted has overseen significant growth in client startups and existing businesses, and the successful launch of numerous businesses.

An accomplished entrepreneur, Ted has founded, grown, and successfully exited several for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations. These ventures include Worldwide Technology, LLC in Muncie and Baker Business Group: Sport Clips Haircuts, with operations in Muncie, Fort Wayne, and Fishers. He brings extensive expertise in nonprofit governance and board leadership, having advised and coached countless entrepreneurs both regionally and statewide. He currently serves on the Indiana Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and the Indiana Technology and Innovation Association, is an Advisory Circle member of the Indiana Starters Coalition, and is actively involved in the national Right to Start initiative. A strong advocate for innovation-driven economic development, Ted is a leading champion for Certified Technology Parks across Indiana.

Ted’s professional contributions extend nationally through his leadership roles with the International Business Innovation Association (InBIA), where he is a Certified Incubator Manager and WKI Certified Business Coach. Locally, he has held leadership positions with organizations including Hillcroft Services, Ball State University Cardinal Varsity Club, First Choice for Women (co-founder), Muncie Sports Commission, and the Delaware County Public Defender Board. He currently serves as President of the Muncie Board of Works and Safety and on the Elder Board at Commonway Church.

A recognized keynote speaker and presenter across East Central Indiana and the United States, Ted is known for his contagious passion, boundless energy, and unwavering commitment to making a positive impact in the lives of those he works with.

A graduate of Ball State University, Ted and his wife, Gail, chose to make Muncie their lifelong home, where they raised four adult children and now enjoy six grandchildren.

Caitlin Hancock serves as the Interim President and CEO of Forge ECI, bringing more than a decade of experience in economic development and regional collaboration. Since joining the organization in 2015, Caitlin has been instrumental in driving initiatives to strengthen the region’s economic vitality, foster community partnerships, and attract talent and investment to East Central Indiana. She has played a key role helping to secure and deploy more than $50 million through Indiana’s READI initiative—transformative funding that is advancing major projects across the region to spur business growth, housing development, talent attraction, and quality-of-place enhancements. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute, Caitlin combines her strategic expertise with a strong foundation in communications, holding a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from Indiana Wesleyan University. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a commitment to building sustainable initiatives that deliver measurable results, while championing collaboration among counties, local leaders, and business partners. Caitlin proudly resides in Hartford City. 

President Geoffrey S. Mearns serves as the 17th president of Ball State University.

After joining the University in May 2017, President Mearns helped to develop a new strategic plan. Destination 2040: Our Flight Path establishes a long-range vision for the University that sets priorities across five key areas: undergraduate excellence, graduate education and lifetime learning, community engagement and impact, scholarship and societal impact, and institutional and inclusive excellence.

During his tenure, President Mearns has pursued initiatives that have sustained and expanded the University’s enrollment, despite the adverse impact of the pandemic, and increased alumni engagement and fundraising. President Mearns has also strengthened the University’s relationship with the community, most notably through its innovative partnership with Muncie Community Schools and its ambitious plan to revitalize The Village. 

President Mearns earned his undergraduate degree in English from Yale University and a law degree from the University of Virginia. After a legal career that included serving as a federal prosecutor, President Mearns held academic and administrative roles at Cleveland State University, and then he served as president of Northern Kentucky University. He and his wife, Jennifer, have five children and four grandchildren.

Valerie Shaffer has worked in the field of economic development for the last 20 years, mostly in Wayne County, Indiana where she has overseen successful investment projects for major private sector employers, industrial park expansion, new housing developments, and transformational downtown developments. Valerie became President of the Economic Development Corporation of Wayne County in November of 2012.  Previously she served as senior project manager for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Indiana's lead economic development organization where she managed economic development projects for a 9-county region in East Central Indiana.  Prior to her time at the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Shaffer spent seven years with the Economic Development Corporation of Wayne County holding various positions but mostly working within the area of business and workforce development.Shaffer is a graduate of Indiana University East where she received a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She has also completed the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute, a respected training program for economic development professionals.  Shaffer is a member of the board of directors for Forge East Central Indiana, Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Richmond, and serves on many advisory boards and working committees that enhance the community. She is past chair of the Indiana Economic Development Association and currently serves on the board of the Indiana Economic Development Association Foundation in Indianapolis. In 2016 Valerie was named 1 of 50 of the nation’s top economic development professionals by Consultant Connect.

Valerie is proud to be a lifelong resident of Richmond where she resides with her husband Bryan and their two dogs.

State Rep. Elizabeth Rowray was elected to serve House District 35 in 2020. Born and raised in Delaware County, she graduated from Muncie Burris High School before attending Ball State University.

After working as a legislative director for former U.S. Congressman Mark Souder of Indiana in Washington, D.C., Rowray worked at the Muncie-Delaware County Economic Development Alliance and served as a Yorktown school board member. She now consults in the non-profit sector.

Rowray lives in Yorktown with her husband and three children.