Indiana Academy’s 50th Anniversary Gala

The Indiana Academy hosted its 50th anniversary with a gala at the Columbia Club in Indianapolis on Monday, October 18. The eight members—Class of 2020 and Class of 2021—honored at this year’s gala are featured below.

Indiana Academy Class of 2020

Indiana Academy Class of 2020

Pictured left to right: William Shrewsberry, Founder, Shrewsberry & Associates, LLC; Patricia Grant, Executive Director, Community Foundation of Wabash County; Earl Goode, Chief of Staff, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb; Max Siegel, Chief Executive Officer, USA Track & Field

Earl Goode

Chief of Staff, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb

Indiana Academy Earl Goode
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Earl A. Goode is the longest-serving gubernatorial chief of staff in Indiana history, serving both GovernorEric Holcomb and Governor Mitch Daniels.

In 2015, Goode became president of Indianapolis’ Capital Improvement Board, which owns and operates the city’s sports stadiums, convention center, and parking garages. From 2001 to 2006, he served as board chairman for the Indiana Sports Corp. and was instrumental in relocating the National Collegiate Athletic Association to Indianapolis and recruiting the Solheim Cup to Central Indiana.

In 2000, Goode concluded a 39-year career with GTE (now Verizon), where he served as president of four GTE business units. He served as chairman of the executive committee for the GTE North Classic seniors golf tournament and for the GTE U.S. Men’s Hard-Court championships, and co-founded the Pioneering Partners program, along with the Great Lakes Governors Association and then-Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson, to recognize teacher excellence across the Great Lakes region.

Goode served on the board of trustees for his alma mater Georgetown College for 13 years, including as chair, and was inducted into Georgetown’s hall of fame in 2020. He has also served on the board of directors for Alma College, and the board of visitors of the Dedman College of Southern Methodist University. He served in the U.S. Army and Kentucky National Guard from 1966 to 1973.

Goode and his wife, Vickie, have a daughter, Kimberly.

Patricia S. Grant

Executive Director, Community Foundation of Wabash County

Patty Grant
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Patty Strauss Grant is executive director of the CommunityFoundation of Wabash County. A life-long resident of North Manchester, Grant has served to advance educational attainment in various capacities throughout her 30-year tenure at the Community Foundation. 

Leveraging the generosity of Lilly Endowment’s seven phases of the GIFT Initiative, her leadership supported the Foundation’s asset growth from $15,000 in 1990 to over $73 million today. Foundation scholarship assets exceed $12 million and provide scholarships to over 300 students annually. 

Grant led the design and development of the innovative Community Foundation Early Award Scholarship Program, which awards scholarships to students in grades 4–8. Sixty-percent of Wabash County public school students have early award scholarship funds at the Community Foundation, serving to solidify a community culture that values education. She also co-founded the Learn More Center, an adult learning center graduating 40 adults annually. 

A graduate of DePauw University and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, she serves as a trustee and board secretary of Manchester University and a member of the audit, student life, executive committees. She is a member of the boards of Parkview Hospital Wabash, Grow Wabash County, and the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership. Grant has helped to support the growth of numerous Wabash County charities and nonprofits including Heartland Learning Center, Friendship Hill (an all-inclusive playground), Honeywell Foundation, Babe of Wabash County, and Daniel’s Place.

Grant and her husband, David, reside in North Manchester. They have three daughters, Sarah, Leah, and Emily.

William Shrewsberry

Founder, Shrewsberry & Associates, LLC

William Shrewsberry
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William Shrewsberry served for 17 years as president and CEO of Shrewsberry & Associates, LLC, an engineering consulting firm he founded in 2001. He has been instrumental in the development of several major projects in Indianapolis, including the new Indianapolis International Airport midfield terminal, Eskenazi Hospital, and the Indianapolis/Marion County Community Justice Campus.

Prior to founding Shrewsberry & Associates, he retired from Ameritech after more than 20 years in engineering and management.

After four terms on the Jeffersonville City Council, he served as a member of Governor Evan Bayh’s senior staff, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Administration, deputy mayor of public policy for Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, and executive director of the White River State Park.

Shrewsberry was appointed the first chair of the Mayor’s Charter School Board, a role he held under Mayor Peterson and Mayor Greg Ballard. He has served on the boards of The Mind Trust, IUPUI, IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs, IU Methodist Health Foundation, Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, Indiana Sports Corp., GIPC, and Madam Walker Legacy Center. He has also served as a Hanover College trustee and the 2012 Super Bowl Operations Division Chairman.

Shrewsberry earned a Bachelor of Science-Management from Indiana University Southeast and a Master of Science-Management from Indiana Wesleyan University. He received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Indiana University. He and his wife, Brenda, have two daughters and a son, Michelle, Monica, and Micah. 

Max Siegel

Chief Executive Officer, USA Track & Field

Max Siegel
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Nationally renowned in the world of sports and entertainment, Max Siegel has been the CEO of USA Track & Field (USATF) since 2012. In the years since, he has led USATF to unprecedented financial growth, successfully bid for the U.S. hosting of the 2021 IAAF World Outdoor Championships, and secured an historic contract with Nike.

He previously served as president of global operations at Dale Earnhardt Inc., where he sold tens of millions of dollars in sponsorships, as senior vice president at Sony/BMG, and as president of Zomba Gospel, Tommy Boy Gospel and Verity Records, where he led one of the most profitable divisions in the Sony/BMG system.

As the owner of Rev Racing since 2010, Siegel has led NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity (D4D) program to bring more multicultural and female talent to the sport, advancing it from a fledgling effort into a competitive juggernaut on the racetrack.

He is a member of the board of directors of the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE), as well as the board of trustees at Martin University and Brebeuf Jesuit High School in Indianapolis. He is an accomplished author of three books and a film producer.

The first African-American to graduate with honors from Notre Dame Law School, Siegel is a native of Indianapolis. He and his wife, Jennifer, are parents of three children, Max II, Matthew, and Madeline. 

Indiana Academy Class of 2021

Indiana Academy Class of 2021

Pictured left to right: Linda E. White, Chief Administrative Officer, Deaconess Henderson Hospital; Dennis Bland, President, Center for Leadership Development; Sara Busche Cobb, Retired Vice President for Education, Lilly Endowment Inc.

Dennis Bland

President, Center for Leadership Development

Dennis Bland
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Dennis Bland is president of the Center for Leadership Development (CLD), an Indianapolis non-profit organization dedicated to empowering African American youth for the highest academic and career 

success, beginning with students in fourth grade. Founded in 1977, CLD helps prepare soon-to-be graduates for college and career achievement. Prior to joining CLD, Bland practiced law for nine years, specializing in medical malpractice litigation and insurance law. 

In 2004, Bland was appointed to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, and he continues to serve in that capacity today. He also serves on the Citizens Energy Group board of trustees and on the executive committee of the Indiana Education Alliance. 

Among his distinguished awards are the President’s Medal of Distinction from Ball State, the Distinguished Alumni Service Award from DePauw University, the Distinguished Alumni Award from Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from Broad Ripple High School. He has received honorary doctorates from Indiana Wesleyan University, Marian University, and Martin University. He is a graduate of DePauw University and the IU McKinney School of Law.

In 2016, Bland was awarded the Sagamore of the Wabash by Governor Mike Pence.

Sara Busche Cobb

Retired Vice President for Education, Lilly Endowment Inc.

Sara Cobb
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Sara Busche Cobb joined the staff of Lilly Endowment Inc. in 1997 as program director for higher education. During her long tenure she supervised more than 8,000 grants to help improve the educational attainment levels of Indiana’s residents and their abilities to find meaningful employment; to build the state’s intellectual capital; and to improve educational opportunities for African American, Hispanic and Native American youth around the country.

From 1999 to 2019, she served as vice president for education. In this capacity, she supervised the Endowment’s grantmaking to advance opportunities in early childhood education, elementary, secondary, and higher education programs, as well as workforce development. 

Cobb came to the Endowment with a rich higher education background after having served at the Indiana University Foundation, the University of Denver, and San Joaquin College of Law in Fresno, California. 

Cobb is a graduate of Purdue University and the Indiana University McKinney School of Law. She and her husband, David, are the parents of three children—Caroline, Melissa, and Lewis. She is a recipient of the Sagamore of the Wabash award as well as the Indiana Youth Institute’s James T. Morris award. 

John Dunn

Chairman and CEO, Dunn Hospitality Group

John Dunn
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An Evansville native, John Dunn founded the Dunn Hospitality Group in 1978. Since that time the group has built or acquired over 50 hotels in Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. Dunn continues to serve as their chairman and CEO. 

He is also chairman of the board of directors for Tri-State Youth for Christ, a member of the Advisory Council for Indiana University Medical School, and a trustee and member of Church of the Cross in Evansville. He is treasurer of the P-47 Foundation of Evansville. He was the past chairman and director of the Oakland City University Foundation, the past chairman of the board of trustees for University of Southern Indiana, and the past chairman and director of Welborn Baptist Hospital and Welborn Baptist Foundation. 

He has retired from the corporate board of directors for South Central Communications, Inc., Old National Bank, and Vectren, Inc. He also served on the board of directors for Boys and Girls Club of Evansville, Southern Indiana Chamber of Commerce, YMCA, and the Salvation Army, and is the past president of St. Mary’s Health Systems Seton Corporation.

Dunn is an alumnus of Oakland City University. He served on Oakland City’s board of trustees for 12 years and was awarded their Honorary Doctorate of Humanities. He also holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Southern Indiana. 

Dunn and his wife, Gail, have three daughters, two sons, ten grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. 

Linda E. White

Chief Administrative Officer, Deaconess Henderson Hospital

Linda White
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Linda White has worked as an administrator at Deaconess, in Evansville, since 1985, serving as president and CEO of the Deaconess Health System for 15 years. She currently holds two positions, chief administrative officer of Deaconess Henderson Hospital (formerly Methodist Hospital) and executive director of the Deaconess Foundation.

White earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Indiana State University, completed the Deaconess School of Nursing diploma program, and received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Evansville. She later earned a Master of Business Administration from UE and designation as a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.

The Southwest Indiana Chamber named White as the city’s 2001 Athena Award recipient, and she was later inducted into the Evansville Regional Business Hall of Fame. Her long list of civic and community involvement includes serving on the board of directors for Leadership Evansville, Operation City Beautiful, the Ark Crisis Nursery, and Junior League of Evansville. She is a past president of the board of directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Evansville and the Evansville Sports Corporation. She is a member of the board of trustees of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and is the former chairman of the board of trustees at the University of Evansville. Membership also includes the Old National Bancorp board of directors and the Indiana Economic Development Committee. Past involvement has included board memberships with the YWCA, the United Way of Southwestern Indiana, the Metropolitan Evansville Chamber of Commerce, and the American Heart Association.