Why were you interested in serving as LSN Advisory Council Chair?
My definition of “community” has broadened and changed over time, but I’ve always been committed to and driven by service to my communities. LSN is very dear to me because as a first-cohort Scholar in 1998, I wanted connection and opportunity. I wanted Lilly Scholars to have an impact that would last far beyond their undergraduate careers. LSN is that opportunity for scholars.

What did the scholarship allow you to do that you otherwise wouldn’t have done?
Make connections! You can be talented and brilliant – as I know Lilly Scholars definitely are – but connections with people give that brilliance purpose. When I became a Lilly Scholar, I changed the college I attended, explored more options than I thought I previously had, and took an on-campus job that set me up for a tremendous start in my career all because of the people I met along the way. I have had opportunities that never would have existed without those connections.

What are you most proud of?
My family. I spent a lot of my early-career years working on trying to build up my own reputation – professionally and in the community. I have helped lead developments on some fantastic projects, from food pantry networks to statewide information/crisis intervention hotlines to rural community advocacy as Executive Director of our community foundation. However, my wife and children have helped me put these projects into perspective and better understand the humanity of the work. Our little family has challenges and is far from perfect by outside standards, but seeing how we each have very different potential contributions to the world around us and encouraging each other to make the world a tiny bit better each day is my favorite “project”.

If you could do anything to help your community, what would it be?
Bring people together to get to know each other. Political differences, prejudices, attitudes, opinions, economic status, educational attainment, and all of those other things that separate people start to fade away when people get to know each other. There’s a small group in Bloomington that focuses only on getting people to have conversations with people they otherwise wouldn’t meet.

What do you hope to see LSN accomplish in the future? Or, what are your big dreams for LSN?
My biggest dream for LSN is that we give Scholars the opportunity to continue making community service and philanthropy a core part of who they are as they navigate the different phases and circumstances of life, and that we can do so both individually and together. I would consider it “mission accomplished” if LSN someday had a public reputation for bettering Indiana.

First posted 11/30/2023