50 Influential Leaders in Indiana School Leadership

Last updated: June 2026

Indiana's schools serve roughly 1.1 million students across more than 1,900 school buildings, from the urban complexity of Indianapolis Public Schools to the rural innovation of a small district in Hancock County rethinking what high school can look like. As of June 2026, the state has recorded its highest graduation rate on record, four consecutive years of rising literacy scores including the largest single-year gain ever measured, and three consecutive years of improving chronic absenteeism. Those results do not happen by themselves.

The leaders in this list are the people making them happen. They include superintendents steering large urban districts through the pressures of charter school legislation and funding debates, principals who have been recognised by their peers as the best in the state at their level, state officials reshaping Indiana's approach to teacher supply and diploma pathways, association executives building the infrastructure that sustains thousands of school administrators, and researchers and consultants doing the quieter work of developing the next generation of Hoosier school leaders. Each person was selected on the basis of a documented contribution to education leadership in Indiana, either through an active presence in the public conversation about schools or through recognised influence on the field, with every role and organisation verified against primary sources within the past twelve months.

As of June 2026, Indiana's literacy gains of four consecutive years reflect the kind of sustained, district-level leadership commitment documented throughout this list. To work with a leadership facilitator who supports school and district leadership teams on the team culture and collaboration foundations that sustain improvement, contact Jonno White at jonno@consultclarity.org.

Why Indiana School Leadership Matters

Indiana school leadership is shaping student outcomes across a state that spans some of the most diverse educational contexts in the Midwest. School leadership research consistently places the principal and superintendent roles as the second most powerful school-based influence on student achievement, exceeded only by classroom instruction itself. The Wallace Foundation's landmark research synthesis found that improving school leadership is one of the most powerful strategies available for improving schools, particularly in communities where student needs are greatest.

Indiana's unique policy landscape makes local leadership particularly consequential. The state has some of the most active school choice legislation in the country, one of the highest proportions of charter school students among Midwestern states, and a graduation pathway framework that was unanimously redesigned in 2025 to give students more flexibility in how they demonstrate readiness. The superintendent in Warsaw navigating the same federal funding shifts as the principal of a Title I elementary school in Indianapolis operates in a policy environment that is simultaneously more competitive and more resource-constrained than at almost any point in the past two decades. The leaders in this list are the ones choosing to engage with that complexity rather than simply manage around it.

How This List Was Compiled

Each leader on this list was selected for a documented, fact-checked contribution to school leadership in Indiana, drawn from published work and recognised credentials to current leadership roles and sustained recognition by peers in the field. Selection criteria included current role verified within the last twelve months, documented evidence of leadership contribution to Indiana's education community, and geographic and sector diversity across the full range of Indiana schools and districts. Every role and organisation was confirmed against primary sources. No one appears twice.

Category 1: Leading the State

The officials, executives, and association leaders who shape the environment Indiana school leaders work within.

1. Dr. Katie Jenner

Dr. Katie Jenner serves as Indiana's Secretary of Education, a role in which she oversees the Indiana Department of Education, the State Board of Education, the Commission for Higher Education, and several specialised schools and boards representing roughly 60 percent of the state budget. Under her leadership, Indiana has moved up thirteen positions in national literacy rankings to reach sixth in the country, achieved the highest graduation rate on record, and improved chronic absenteeism for three consecutive years.

Jenner also championed the unanimous adoption of new high school diploma requirements that allow students to personalise their pathway to graduation, created a statewide teacher supply and demand marketplace connecting educators with open positions, and launched the Indiana GPS Dashboard to give families and educators transparent access to school and student outcome data. Her public presence on LinkedIn and at education conferences across Indiana makes her one of the most accessible state education officials in the country.

2. Dr. Paul Ketcham

Dr. Paul Ketcham serves as Indiana's Assistant Secretary of Education, a role he began on January 5, 2026, following nine years as Superintendent of the Batesville Community School Corporation. He was named the 2025 Indiana Superintendent of the Year by the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents and received the 2026 Central States Simon Award for his support of the Batesville Dual Language Immersion Mandarin programme.

Under his district leadership, Batesville was named an Indiana Blue Ribbon School, earned recognition as a Ford Next Generation Learning community, and reached top-five statewide literacy results. Ketcham now works alongside Secretary Jenner on state strategic priorities for K-12 and higher education, with a particular focus on aligning education policy, workforce development, and expanded student pathways. The transition from one of Indiana's most recognised district leaders to a statewide policy role brings both practitioner credibility and documented improvement results to the department.

3. Dr. Jeff Butts

Dr. Jeff Butts serves as Executive Director of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents (IAPSS), a role he began in January 2026 after fifteen years as Superintendent of the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township. Under his district leadership, Wayne Township's graduation rate increased by 34 percent, the district developed Indiana's first public virtual high school, and both Ben Davis University High School and Area 31 Early College were established.

Butts was the 2019 Indiana Superintendent of the Year and a runner-up for the AASA National Superintendent of the Year. He has facilitated 125 superintendents through the EPIC (Educators Preparing Inspired Change) programme and 180 aspiring superintendents through the Indiana Aspiring Superintendent Academy. His move to IAPSS means the organisation that supports Indiana's superintendents is now led by one of the most decorated district practitioners in the state's recent history.

4. Dr. Todd Bess

Dr. Todd Bess serves as Executive Director of the Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP), which supports more than 3,400 building-level administrators across Indiana. A former math teacher, assistant principal, principal, and assistant superintendent, Bess recently completed his PhD in Educational Leadership from Indiana State University and continues to teach in ISU's PhD programme.

His leadership of IASP includes overseeing the Indiana Principal Leadership Institute, the New Administrator Leadership Institute, and a weekly podcast that has become one of the primary continuing education voices for Indiana school administrators. IASP runs twelve distinct district recognition programmes and student academic competitions reaching more than 42,000 Indiana students. Bess brings both practitioner depth and a genuine personal commitment to the development of the next generation of Indiana school leaders.

5. Dr. Tiffany D. Barrett

Dr. Tiffany D. Barrett serves as Assistant Executive Director of the Indiana Association of School Principals and coordinates the New Administrator Leadership Institute (INALI), a programme that places early-career principals with experienced mentors across regional cohorts. She is also the host of the IASP Leadership Podcast, which publishes weekly episodes covering legislative updates, professional development, and conversations with Indiana's most recognised building-level leaders.

Barrett is the face of IASP's communication with members across the state, authoring weekly resource updates, facilitating the IASP's coaching programme, and hosting the annual recognition events where Indiana's Principals and Assistant Principals of the Year are celebrated. Her work building the public voice of the principal profession in Indiana through podcast and weekly content has made the IASP a significantly more visible advocate for school leadership in the state's public conversation.

6. Dr. Kelly Andrews

Dr. Kelly Andrews serves as Executive Director of the Indiana Principal Leadership Institute (IPLI), a two-year professional development programme hosted by Indiana State University and supported by the Indiana Association of School Principals. IPLI operates across multiple cohorts simultaneously, serving established principals and working with them to build leadership capacity not just in themselves but among the teacher leaders in their schools.

Andrews brings faculty expertise in educational leadership to a practical development context that reaches experienced school administrators across the state. IPLI's cohort model, which pairs participants with trained mentors in regional groups and builds toward school-wide impact in year two, has made it one of Indiana's most sustained investments in principal development. The programme is currently accepting applications for its fourteenth cohort.

Category 2: Indianapolis and Central Indiana District Leaders

The superintendents leading Indiana's largest and most complex urban and suburban school corporations.

7. Dr. Aleesia Johnson

Dr. Aleesia Johnson serves as Superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS), the largest school district in Indiana with more than 30,000 students. Named superintendent in 2019, she was the first Black woman to hold the role in the district's history. Johnson began her education career as a sixth-grade science and social studies teacher and served as leader of KIPP Indy College Prep Middle School before joining IPS as its innovation officer in 2015.

Johnson is a member of the Aspen Superintendents Network and Chiefs for Change, serves on the advisory board of Harvard University's Center for Education Policy Research, and has been a panellist at SXSW EDU. Her tenure at IPS has coincided with the district's most significant governance restructuring in decades, including the creation of the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance and, in 2026, the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, a new entity that oversees facilities, transportation, and finances across IPS and its partner charter schools.

8. Dr. Shawn A. Smith

Dr. Shawn A. Smith has served as Superintendent of the Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township since January 2014, leading one of Indiana's most diverse school corporations with approximately 16,500 students. Under his leadership, the district's graduation rate has climbed from 86 percent to 96 percent, a 1:1 student device rollout was completed district-wide, Spanish Dual Immersion programmes were expanded, and Lawrence Advance Academy was launched as an innovation campus.

Smith received the 2025 Central States Simon Award and the 2024 NNELL Award, and the MSD of Lawrence Township was recognised as a Best Public Schools winner in both the 2024 and 2025 Best Things Community Choice Awards. He has presented at education conferences nationally and served on advisory boards across education, community health, and youth development. His combination of tenure, measurable district improvement, and national recognition makes him one of Indiana's most documented district leaders.

9. Dr. Shenia Suggs

Dr. Shenia Suggs became Superintendent of the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township in October 2025, succeeding Jeff Butts after fifteen years of his leadership at the district. She previously served as the district's Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and is a Ben Davis High School parent and community member with deep roots in the westside Indianapolis community the district serves.

Suggs has committed to continuing the collaborative culture Butts built at Wayne Township while bringing her human resources background to the challenges of teacher recruitment and retention that remain among the most pressing in Indianapolis's township districts. Wayne Township serves more than 16,000 students across 25 facilities and operates Ben Davis High School, the second-largest brick-and-mortar school in Indiana.

10. Dr. Laura Hammack

Dr. Laura Hammack serves as Superintendent of Beech Grove City Schools, a small but innovative district of five schools in central Indiana. A former Brown County Schools superintendent and a graduate of Indiana State University's educational leadership programme, Hammack has brought a particular focus on teacher recruitment and retention to Beech Grove, including the Grow Our Own Educator pathway programme, which is funded in part by a federal Teacher and School Leader Incentive Grant.

Hammack is a facilitator for the IAPSS EPIC Superintendents Academy and has served as a mentor and recommender for multiple district superintendents across Indiana. Her active participation in both state-level leadership development and building-level programmatic innovation makes her one of the most connected mid-district superintendents in the state.

11. Dr. Jack Parker

Dr. Jack Parker has served as Superintendent of Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation in Fortville since January 2019, leading the district through a period of significant enrolment growth in one of Indiana's fastest-growing suburban communities. He was named the 2025 IAPSS District V Superintendent of the Year. Under his leadership, Mt. Vernon built a new elementary school, reestablished an intermediate level for fifth and sixth-grade students, raised classified staff compensation by 40 percent over five years, and collaborated with neighbouring districts to launch the Hancock County Career Center.

Parker is a facilitator for the EPIC Superintendent Academy, an executive coach and mentor in the IAPSS Inspiring Superintendent's Academy, and has published white papers in EdSpaces and Solution Tree. He began his career as a band teacher and has maintained a consistent emphasis on collaboration and continuous improvement as the anchoring principles of his district leadership.

Category 3: Innovation and Growth Leaders

Leaders who are building new models and navigating growth challenges across Indiana's suburban and emerging districts.

12. Dr. George Philhower

Dr. George Philhower serves as Superintendent of Eastern Hancock Schools in Charlottesville, a district in Hancock County that has become one of Indiana's most recognised examples of personalised, competency-based school redesign. He founded Joy Jam, an annual professional learning conference for Indiana educators that has drawn statewide participation and generated significant coverage of the role of joy and connection in school culture.

Eastern Hancock was selected to join the Future of High School Network, a Carnegie Foundation initiative that brings together innovative schools working to redesign the high school experience around student agency, real-world relevance, and career connectivity. Nearly 25 percent of Eastern Hancock high school students participate in internships, apprenticeships, or industry-partnered projects. Philhower holds a PhD in Educational Leadership with a research focus on high school redesign and publishes regularly on LinkedIn on the intersection of joy, student success, and district strategy.

13. Dr. Pat Mapes

Dr. Pat Mapes serves as Superintendent of Hamilton Southeastern Schools in Fishers, the fourth-largest school corporation in Indiana with more than 21,600 students. He was named to the US News Best Leaders list in 2025 and continues to serve as a member of the Indiana State Board of Education. Mapes brought to Hamilton Southeastern more than 35 years of Indiana education experience, including seven years as superintendent of Perry Township Schools.

Under his leadership, Hamilton Southeastern has maintained an A rating from the Indiana Department of Education. Mapes has been an active participant in IAPSS district leadership and maintains a LinkedIn presence that documents his engagement with both local community partnership development and statewide education policy conversations.

14. Dr. Daniel Hile

Dr. Daniel Hile serves as Superintendent of Noblesville Schools and has been named IAPSS President-Elect for the 2025-2026 year. Noblesville Schools serves students in one of Indiana's fastest-growing communities, and Hile has navigated significant enrolment growth while maintaining community partnerships across health, civic, and youth development sectors. The district has provided more than 25,000 individual and group counselling sessions to students in a single year.

Hile's recognition by peer superintendents as IAPSS President-Elect reflects the regard in which he is held among Indiana's district leadership community. Noblesville is marking its 100th year as the home of the Millers, and Hile launched a Hall of Fame programme in 2025 to honour individuals who have made lasting contributions to the school community.

15. Dr. Chase Huotari

Dr. Chase Huotari serves as Superintendent of Franklin Township Community School Corporation in Indianapolis, a Marion County district on the southeast side of Indianapolis that is part of the IAPSS EPIC Cohort 9 for 2025-2026. The EPIC programme, Indiana's premier leadership development initiative for sitting superintendents, brings together district leaders from across the state for advanced executive leadership development with partners from Indiana's business and university communities.

Franklin Township CSC serves a diverse and growing student population on Indianapolis's southeast side. Huotari's participation in EPIC's ninth cohort places him among a group of Indiana superintendents identified as leaders invested in their own continuous professional development, with the work of the cohort focused on systems thinking, strategic innovation, and organisational management.

16. Dr. James Hanna

Dr. James Hanna serves as Superintendent of Rossville Consolidated School District in Carroll County and was named the 2025-2026 IAPSS District III Superintendent of the Year, recognised by fellow superintendents for leadership, professional accomplishments, and impact on students and schools. District III of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents covers the North Central region of the state.

District III Superintendent of the Year recognition from peer superintendents is among the most meaningful forms of professional recognition in Indiana school administration, as it reflects how a leader is regarded by colleagues who operate in the same region and face many of the same challenges. Hanna's selection reflects his standing among the superintendents of North Central Indiana.

Category 4: Building-Level Excellence

The principals and assistant principals recognised by their peers as Indiana's outstanding building-level leaders.

17. Amy Boone

Amy Boone serves as Principal of Southport High School in Perry Township Schools, Indianapolis, and was named the 2025 Indiana High School Principal of the Year by the Indiana Association of School Principals. She was nominated by an assistant principal who described her as one of the hardest workers in his entire career. The state award, announced at the JW Marriott in Indianapolis in November 2025, recognised her leadership in meeting the full range of student needs at a large urban high school.

Boone also serves as District 7 Co-President on the IASP Board of Directors, which covers the central Indianapolis area. Her dual role as a recognised building leader and active participant in state-level association governance reflects a commitment to the profession that extends well beyond her own school community.

18. Susan Strube

Susan Strube serves as Principal of West Newton Elementary School in the MSD of Decatur Township, Indianapolis, and was named the Indiana Elementary Principal of the Year for 2025 by the Indiana Association of School Principals. Superintendent Dr. Scott Collins described Strube as someone whose dedication and love for students, staff, and families is immediately evident, and whose school culture instils a love for learning in a safe and welcoming environment.

Strube has devoted her entire career to serving students, families, and the community of Decatur Township. Her recognition as Elementary Principal of the Year reflects both her impact at the building level and the regard of her peers in the district and across the state.

19. Tom Hakim

Tom Hakim serves as Principal of Northview Middle School in Indianapolis and was named the 2025 Indiana Middle School Principal of the Year by the Indiana Association of School Principals. He has been recognised for his expertise in building positive middle school culture and for supporting students to recover and thrive academically following the disruptions of the pandemic years. His work has been featured on the Keep Indiana Learning podcast as an example of how building-level leadership can shape middle school culture with lasting effect.

The Middle School Principal of the Year award is decided through a rigorous peer review process in which district-level winners across Indiana's twelve IASP districts compete for the state honour. Hakim was recognised on the IASP Leadership Podcast alongside Indiana's other 2025 principal award winners as a leader who exemplifies excellence in every way.

20. Josiah Parker

Josiah Parker serves as Assistant Principal at Penn High School in the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation in Mishawaka and was named the 2025 Indiana Assistant Principal of the Year by the Indiana Association of School Principals. He has been with Penn since 2014 and was recognised at the district level as the District 2 Assistant Principal of the Year before receiving the statewide honour.

One of Parker's most visible initiatives at Penn was his leadership of the Hand of Grace project, in which Penn Robotics students designed and produced a 3-D printed prosthetic arm for a third-grade student at a local elementary school. The project drew state and national attention as an example of student-centred innovation with genuine community impact, and Parker shared the story on the IASP Leadership Podcast as one of the four outstanding leaders honoured at the 2025 Fall Professionals Conference.

21. Todd Reagan

Todd Reagan serves as Principal of Wes-Del Elementary School in Gaston, Indiana, and was named the 2025 Indiana Elementary Principal of the Year by the Indiana Association of School Principals. He also currently serves as District IV President on the IASP Board of Directors, representing the east central Indiana region of the association. The dual recognition, as both a state-level principal award winner and an elected district representative, reflects his active standing among building-level administrators across central and eastern Indiana.

Wes-Del Elementary serves the rural community of Delaware County. Reagan's recognition as Elementary Principal of the Year highlights the significant contribution that building leaders in Indiana's smaller and rural districts make to the state's educational landscape.

22. Andy Allen

Andy Allen serves as Principal of Batesville High School and as the current President of the Indiana Association of School Principals for the 2025-2026 school year. IASP's President leads the association's board of directors and represents the voice of Indiana's more than 3,400 school administrators in advocacy, professional development, and policy engagement.

As IASP President, Allen plays a direct role in setting the organisation's legislative priorities and representing the principal's perspective in Indiana's education policy conversations. Batesville High School is part of the same community that produced Paul Ketcham, the 2025 Indiana Superintendent of the Year, reflecting a culture of educational excellence across the Batesville Community School Corporation.

23. Dr. Bret Bailey

Dr. Bret Bailey serves as Principal of Hamilton Heights Middle School in Arcadia and as IASP President-Elect for the 2025-2026 school year. His role as President-Elect means he is preparing to assume the IASP presidency and represents the incoming direction of the association's advocacy and professional development work for Indiana principals.

Hamilton Heights Middle School is part of the Hamilton Heights School Corporation in Hamilton County. Bailey's position as both an active building principal and the incoming leader of Indiana's principal association reflects the dual commitment to school-level practice and state-level advocacy that the IASP's governance model is designed to embody.

24. Dr. Jane Bitting

Dr. Jane Bitting serves as Principal of Perry Hill Elementary School in the Fort Wayne area and as IASP Vice President for the 2025-2026 school year. She has also been an active voice on the IASP Advocacy Podcast, providing an elementary-level perspective on Indiana's 2025 legislative session and what it means for building-level administrators.

Her combination of building-level leadership and active advocacy engagement on behalf of elementary school principals across Indiana reflects the kind of practitioner-policymaker bridge that IASP's governance structure depends on. Perry Hill Elementary is part of the Northwest Allen County Schools system, making Bitting one of the most visible advocates for northeast Indiana's building-level principals in the association's state leadership.

25. Dr. Holly Arnold

Dr. Holly Arnold serves as Principal of Newburgh Elementary School in Newburgh, Indiana, and as IASP Past President following her presidential year in 2024-2025. She was inducted as IASP President at the annual board of directors meeting in Brown County in June 2024, and her year of service was described by the organisation as characterised by an unwavering passion for education.

Arnold's past-presidential role means she continues to serve on the IASP Board of Directors in an advisory capacity, bringing the institutional knowledge of a presidential year to the association's current leadership. Newburgh Elementary is part of the Warrick County School Corporation in southwest Indiana.

26. Raimeka Graham

Raimeka Graham serves as Principal of Deer Run Elementary School in Indianapolis and as the IASP NAESP State Representative, serving as Indiana's link to the National Association of Elementary School Principals. Deer Run Elementary is part of the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township in Indianapolis.

The NAESP State Representative role means Graham represents Indiana's elementary principals in national conversations about building-level leadership, connecting local practice to the broader national discourse about the elementary principalship. The combination of a building leadership role in Indianapolis's township districts and a national representational function reflects the reach of Graham's contribution to the profession.

27. Justin Tucker

Justin Tucker serves as Principal of Benjamin Rush Middle School in Batesville and was named a National Middle Level Principal of the Year finalist in 2025. He was also the District 10 Middle School Principal of the Year winner for the Indiana Association of School Principals, and has been a consistent presence in IASP's professional recognition programmes across multiple years, reflecting sustained excellence at the middle school level in one of Indiana's most consistently high-performing school communities.

Batesville Middle School is part of the Batesville Community School Corporation, a district that has produced both the 2025 Indiana Superintendent of the Year and multiple building-level award winners, suggesting a culture of professional excellence at every level of school leadership.

Category 5: Northern Indiana Leaders

The leaders navigating the distinctive challenges and opportunities of Indiana's northern communities, from Fort Wayne to Mishawaka.

28. Dr. Mark Daniel

Dr. Mark Daniel serves as Superintendent of Fort Wayne Community Schools, Indiana's largest school corporation with nearly 30,000 students across 51 schools. He joined FWCS in July 2020 and has made industry partnership and community collaboration central to the district's strategy, developing a portrait of graduate framework with three Schools of Success pipelines addressing high-need careers in northeast Indiana.

Fort Wayne Community Schools is partnering with Junior Achievement of Northeast Indiana to bring the JA 3DE transformative education model to all five of its high schools, offering career-connected learning experiences that build real-world skills alongside academic foundations. Daniel is an active voice on LinkedIn on AI in education, federal funding changes, and workforce preparation, and serves on the Indiana University Fort Wayne Advisory Board.

29. Dr. Mansour Eid

Dr. Mansour Eid serves as Superintendent of the South Bend Community School Corporation, having been appointed to the role in 2025. He has been with South Bend schools in various roles since 1989, including as principal of Clay High School and South Bend Virtual School, and as Director of High Schools and Career and Technical Education.

Eid is the author of Purposeful Educator Connections, a work that lays out principles for deepening educator relationships with students, and he presented on the book at the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement Assembly in 2025. The South Bend Community School Corporation serves St. Joseph County's oldest and largest school corporation, with 27 schools covering approximately 160 square miles.

30. Dr. Sarita Stevens

Dr. Sarita Stevens serves as Deputy Superintendent of the South Bend Community School Corporation, bringing more than 25 years of experience at both school and district leadership levels. She previously served as Assistant Superintendent of Student Services for Elkhart Community Schools, where she implemented district-wide training in Trauma-Informed Care and Trust-Based Relational Intervention. During her time at Elkhart, the district achieved zero expulsions district-wide as a result of the at-risk student programmes she built.

Stevens holds a PhD from Indiana State University and brings expertise in public relations, human resource management, curriculum and instruction, and federal programmes. Her role as deputy superintendent of the second-largest district in St. Joseph County makes her one of the most influential administrators in northern Indiana's largest urban school system.

31. Dr. Theodore Stevens

Dr. Theodore Stevens serves as Superintendent of the School City of Mishawaka and is a member of IAPSS EPIC Cohort 9 for 2025-2026. The School City of Mishawaka received the 2026 CTE Award for Excellence in Secondary Partnership from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education and the Indiana Department of Education for its Building Trades programme. The district has also been named a Best Communities for Music Education award recipient for the seventh consecutive year by the NAMM Foundation.

School City of Mishawaka serves the city of Mishawaka in St. Joseph County. Stevens's participation in EPIC alongside his district's consistent recognition for CTE and arts education excellence reflects a leader invested in both personal professional growth and district-wide programme quality.

32. Chad Addie

Chad Addie serves as Superintendent of Portage Township Schools in northwest Indiana and is one of the more active voices on LinkedIn among Indiana superintendents, posting regularly on topics including school governance, virtual education, the future of the superintendency, and what makes communities with strong public schools attractive to families and businesses.

Portage Township is in Porter County, part of the Lake Michigan corridor that represents Indiana's most industrially significant and economically complex region. Addie's public engagement on the superintendency as a role, the dynamics of school boards, and the relationship between public schools and community development makes him one of the more thoughtful practitioner voices in northwest Indiana's education community.

33. Dr. Mary Tracy-MacAulay

Dr. Mary Tracy-MacAulay serves as Superintendent of Hanover Community School Corporation in northwest Indiana and was named the IAPSS District I Superintendent of the Year for 2025, recognised by fellow northwest Indiana superintendents for leadership and community impact. District I of IAPSS covers the northwest corner of the state, including Lake, Porter, Newton, and Jasper counties.

Hanover Community School Corporation serves a Lake County community in northwest Indiana. Tracy-MacAulay's peer recognition as the outstanding superintendent in northwest Indiana's district reflects the regard in which she is held by the colleagues who know the region's challenges and opportunities best.

34. David Hoffert

David Hoffert serves as Superintendent of Warsaw Community Schools in Kosciusko County, northeast Indiana, and was named the IAPSS District II Superintendent of the Year for 2025. Warsaw Community Schools serves one of Indiana's most economically distinctive communities, home to one of the world's largest concentrations of orthopaedics manufacturers and medical device companies, which shapes the district's approach to career and technical education and workforce preparation.

Hoffert's peer recognition as the outstanding superintendent in District II reflects his standing among the superintendents of northeast Indiana's school corporations. The Warsaw community's unique economic identity gives its school district a specific and documented set of workforce preparation priorities that distinguish its leadership from those of suburban or urban districts.

Category 6: Southern and Western Indiana Leaders

Leaders in the communities and districts that form Indiana's southern and western education landscape.

35. Dr. Darla Hoover

Dr. Darla Hoover became Superintendent of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation on July 1, 2025, making history as the first woman to hold the role in the district's history. She is a lifelong Evansville community member, an EVSC graduate, and a first-generation college graduate from the University of Southern Indiana. Her 24 years of service to the district before becoming superintendent included teaching, department chair, assistant principal, principal, and Chief of Schools and Instructional Care.

EVSC is the third-largest school corporation in Indiana, serving more than 15,000 students across Vanderburgh County. Hoover has described her leadership priorities as ensuring every student has the support to be successful, that staff feel valued and empowered, and that the district maintains genuine partnership with families and the broader Evansville community.

36. Dr. Todd Terrill

Dr. Todd Terrill serves as Superintendent of Crown Point Community School Corporation in Lake County, northwest Indiana, and is a member of IAPSS EPIC Cohort 9 for the 2025-2026 year. Crown Point Community Schools serves one of northwest Indiana's fastest-growing communities, a suburb with significant population growth driven by families relocating from the greater Chicago metro area.

The EPIC Superintendent Academy, in which Terrill participates, brings together top experts from business and education to develop leadership capacity in sitting superintendents. His participation reflects both the district's commitment to continuous leadership improvement and his peer-recognised standing among Indiana's superintendent community.

37. Dr. Ron Ross

Dr. Ron Ross serves as Superintendent of South Dearborn Community School Corporation in Aurora, southeastern Indiana, and is a member of IAPSS EPIC Cohort 9 for the 2025-2026 year. South Dearborn CSC serves Dearborn County, a district in the Ohio River valley that borders both Ohio and Kentucky and serves communities defined by both agricultural heritage and manufacturing employment.

EPIC participation places Ross among the cohort of Indiana superintendents investing in advanced executive leadership development. The southeastern corner of Indiana, which includes significant communities along the Ohio River corridor, has produced some of Indiana's most recognised district leaders in recent years.

38. Dr. Sandra Wood

Dr. Sandra Wood serves as Superintendent of LaPorte Community Schools in LaPorte, northwest Indiana, and is a member of IAPSS EPIC Cohort 9 for the 2025-2026 year. LaPorte Community Schools serves one of Indiana's school corporations positioned between the Chicago metro influence of Lake County and the agricultural communities of north-central Indiana.

Wood's participation in EPIC alongside eight other sitting Indiana superintendents reflects a commitment to professional development that sustains district leadership quality. LaPorte County is one of Indiana's historically significant communities, and its school corporation navigates the full range of challenges that smaller Midwestern districts face in the current education landscape.

39. Dr. Phil Harrison

Dr. Phil Harrison serves as Superintendent of Southwest Parke Community School Corporation in Montezuma, west central Indiana, and was named the IAPSS District IV Superintendent of the Year for 2025, recognised by fellow west central Indiana superintendents for leadership and impact on students and schools. Southwest Parke CSC serves the rural communities of Parke County in Indiana's west central region.

The District IV Superintendent of the Year recognition from peers reflects Harrison's standing in a region of Indiana that includes both small rural districts and mid-sized industrial communities. Peer-recognition awards in the IAPSS system are particularly meaningful because they reflect the judgment of colleagues who share the same regional context and professional environment.

40. Brett Garrett

Brett Garrett serves as Superintendent of Eastbrook Community Schools in Marion, Grant County, northeast central Indiana, and was named one of the eight IAPSS District-Level Superintendents of the Year for 2025 representing his region of the state. Eastbrook Community Schools serves a rural community in Grant County.

Garrett's selection as one of Indiana's eight regional superintendent of the year honourees reflects his peer recognition across north-central Indiana. The Eastbrook district represents the kind of rural district leadership that serves a significant portion of Indiana's student population and that shapes school quality in communities where educational opportunity and economic mobility are closely linked.

Category 7: Thought Leaders and Voices Beyond the District

Leaders whose contribution to Indiana school leadership extends through their published work, consulting, or academic presence.

41. Dr. Byron Ernest

Dr. Byron Ernest is the founder and Chief Positivity Officer of Leadery Global, an Indianapolis-based leadership development and consulting organisation working with educational institutions and leaders globally. He was Indiana's Teacher of the Year in 2010, the 2011 Christopher Columbus Foundation National Outstanding Agriscience Teacher, and received the 2024 Impact Leadership Global Award in Dubai. He holds a Visiting Scholar in Residence designation from the C.S. Lewis Foundation and has completed coursework at the University of Oxford Said Business School.

Ernest's earlier career included serving as principal at Emmerich Manual High School in Indianapolis after it was taken over by the state for seven consecutive failing years. Under his leadership, Manual was removed from the state's failing list, a distinction that makes it the only state turnaround school in Indiana to achieve that result. He publishes regularly on leadership and education policy at his blog and on LinkedIn, and his international consulting work brings Indiana school leadership perspectives to a global professional development context.

42. Dr. Jason Callahan

Dr. Jason Callahan serves as Executive Vice President at the Forum for Youth Investment, where his work spans K-12 education innovation, career and technical education advocacy, and systemic reform. A Ball State University graduate with deep Indiana roots, Callahan has been a keynote speaker at CTE graduation ceremonies, a participant in Indiana's 529 education savings outreach work, and an active advocate for entrepreneurship and innovation pathways in K-12 schools.

His LinkedIn presence features substantive posts on K-12 innovation, the future of apprenticeship models in education, and the relationship between entrepreneurship education and career readiness. Callahan's cross-sector position, connecting schools with workforce development and youth investment organisations, makes him one of the more distinctive voices in Indiana's education leadership conversation.

43. Dr. Mary F. Howard-Hamilton

Dr. Mary F. Howard-Hamilton serves as the Bayh College of Education Distinguished Research Professor and Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership at Indiana State University in Terre Haute. She received the George D. Kuh Outstanding Contribution to Literature and/or Research Award from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators in 2021, the Presidential Medal from the Association for the Study of Higher Education in 2018, and multiple ISU distinguished research and teaching awards.

Howard-Hamilton's contribution to Indiana school leadership operates through two channels: her direct role in preparing the educational leadership doctoral and masters students who become Indiana's next generation of principals and superintendents, and her nationally recognised research placing ISU's educational leadership programme at the front rank of the field. Her continued leadership of the department makes her one of the most quietly influential figures in Indiana's school leadership talent pipeline.

Category 8: Building Tomorrow's Pipeline

Leaders investing in the next generation of Indiana school administrators and driving improvement across a diverse range of Indiana communities.

44. Dr. Larry Young

Dr. Larry Young serves as Superintendent of the Metropolitan School District of Pike Township in Indianapolis, one of Marion County's township school districts, and is a member of IAPSS EPIC Cohort 9 for 2025-2026. MSD Pike Township serves a diverse westside Indianapolis community and has been a district where multiple Indiana education leaders developed significant parts of their careers.

Young's participation in EPIC places him among the cohort of Indiana district leaders investing in advanced leadership development. The Pike Township district, which includes communities on Indianapolis's northwest side, serves a student population with significant diversity in both demographics and academic preparation, making it one of Marion County's more complex leadership environments.

45. Dr. Traci Blaize

Dr. Traci Blaize serves as Superintendent of Lakeland School Corporation in LaGrange County, northeast Indiana, and is a member of IAPSS EPIC Cohort 9 for 2025-2026. LaGrange County is home to one of Indiana's most distinctive communities, with a significant Amish population that gives the Lakeland district a unique cultural and educational context requiring thoughtful, community-rooted leadership.

Blaize's participation in EPIC reflects a commitment to leadership development even within a smaller, more geographically remote district. The northeast corner of Indiana is often underrepresented in state education conversations despite serving a significant portion of Indiana's rural student population.

46. Dr. Ben Anderson

Dr. Ben Anderson serves as Superintendent of South Central Community School Corporation in Union Mills, northwest Indiana, and is a member of IAPSS EPIC Cohort 9 for 2025-2026. South Central CSC serves the communities of LaPorte County's rural southern corridor. Anderson's participation in Indiana's most demanding superintendent development programme reflects his investment in bringing advanced leadership capacity to a smaller northwest Indiana district that faces the same pressures of teacher shortage and funding constraint as larger urban systems.

EPIC's ninth cohort included twelve sitting Indiana superintendents, selected for their commitment to continuous improvement and their readiness to engage with the cross-sector thinking and executive leadership development that the programme delivers in partnership with Indiana's business community and university sector.

47. Dr. Kelly Shepherd

Dr. Kelly Shepherd serves as Superintendent of North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation in Starke County, northwest Indiana, and is a member of IAPSS EPIC Cohort 9 for 2025-2026. Starke County is one of Indiana's more rural northwestern counties, and leading its school corporation requires navigating the intersection of agricultural community values, limited local tax base, and the same expectations for student achievement that apply across the state.

North Judson-San Pierre serves a small rural community where the superintendent's role is necessarily one of close community engagement and resourceful problem-solving. Shepherd's selection for the EPIC programme reflects a recognition among Indiana's superintendent community that rural district leaders benefit from the same advanced executive development as their counterparts in larger urban systems.

48. Nicole Laird

Nicole Laird serves as Principal of Wilbur Wright Middle School in Munster, northwest Indiana, and as IASP District 1 Vice President on the IASP Board of Directors for 2025-2026. Munster is part of Lake County, Indiana's northwest corner and its most densely populated region, where the school communities reflect the demographic diversity of a metro area that borders Chicago.

Laird's dual role as a building principal and elected district representative on the IASP Board means she actively represents the voice of northwest Indiana's middle school principals in state-level advocacy and professional development conversations. Wilbur Wright Middle School is part of the Munster School Corporation, one of the more consistently high-performing districts in northwest Indiana.

49. Dr. Rex Ryker

Dr. Rex Ryker serves as Superintendent of Crawfordsville Community Schools in Montgomery County, west central Indiana, and is a member of IAPSS EPIC Cohort 9 for 2025-2026. Crawfordsville Community Schools serves the county seat of Montgomery County in Indiana's west central region, a community with deep agricultural and manufacturing roots and a distinctive connection to the literary heritage of Indiana through its historic status as 'the Athens of Indiana'.

Ryker's participation in EPIC places the Crawfordsville district, which serves a mid-sized rural and small-city student population, within the state's premier leadership development network for sitting superintendents. Montgomery County and its surrounding communities represent the kind of mid-Indiana context where strong district leadership can determine whether students have access to pathways that prepare them for both local opportunities and broader futures.

50. Dr. Jeff Gibboney

Dr. Jeff Gibboney serves as Superintendent of Greencastle Community School Corporation in Putnam County, west central Indiana, and is a member of IAPSS EPIC Cohort 9 for 2025-2026. Greencastle is home to DePauw University, which gives the school corporation an unusual relationship with a liberal arts institution that can enrich community resources for students and educators alike.

Gibboney's participation in EPIC reflects a commitment to sustained leadership development in one of Indiana's mid-sized county seat communities. Putnam County's school corporation, like many similarly sized Indiana districts, navigates the pressures of shifting enrollment patterns alongside the different dynamics of a university town that can bring both opportunity and instability to the local education environment.

Notable Voices We Almost Included

Several Indiana school leaders deserve acknowledgement in a list of this size. Marilyn Hissong, who served as Superintendent of East Allen County Schools and was Indiana's 2024 Superintendent of the Year, completed one of Indiana's most celebrated superintendent tenures and represents a generation of Indiana district leadership that has set the bar for what sustained excellence looks like. David Smith, who retired as Superintendent of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation in July 2025 after 43 years with the district including fourteen as superintendent, left behind a legacy of community-rooted district leadership that his successor is building upon. Dr. Ryan Donlan of Indiana State University, whose Ed Leadershop Blog has been a resource for Indiana principals for more than a decade, contributes to the professional conversation in ways that extend beyond his academic role.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Indiana School Leadership

The most common mistake in Indiana school leadership conversations is treating the state's education landscape as monolithic. Indianapolis is not Indiana, and the challenges facing a large urban district of 30,000 students in Marion County are fundamentally different from those facing a rural district of 1,200 students in Starke County or a fast-growing suburban district in Hamilton County managing hundreds of new students per year. Effective leadership in each context requires a different set of priorities and a different relationship with the community, and what works in one setting can fail in another.

The second common mistake is underestimating the significance of Indiana's school choice landscape. With one of the most active school voucher programmes and charter school sectors in the Midwest, Indiana's school leaders operate in a competitive environment for student enrolment that few other states replicate. Leaders who treat the choice landscape as a threat rather than a design constraint tend to lose students to alternatives. Leaders who treat it as a reason to sharpen their own district's value proposition tend to build the kind of school communities that families actively choose to stay in.

A third mistake is confusing legislative compliance with leadership. Indiana's 2025 legislative session produced 43 bills affecting K-12 education, and the school leaders who managed that environment best were not the ones who tried to comply fastest. They were the ones who understood what the legislation actually changed, what it left unchanged, and how to build the internal communication and community trust that allowed their schools to adapt without losing momentum.

The fourth mistake is neglecting the teacher pipeline. Indiana's teacher shortage is documented across the state, and districts that have addressed it most successfully have done so through building their own pathways, including the kind of Grow Your Own educator programmes championed at Beech Grove City Schools and the dual-credit teacher preparation tracks at multiple central Indiana districts. The leaders who have made the most visible progress on retention have consistently named staff compensation, working conditions, and genuine inclusion in decision-making as the three drivers that matter most.

Implementation Guide for Engaging with Indiana School Leadership

Understanding the structure of Indiana school leadership is the first step. Indiana's K-12 system is organised through the Indiana Department of Education under the Secretary of Education, the Indiana State Board of Education, and approximately 290 school corporations alongside a significant charter school sector. The Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP) and the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents (IAPSS) are the two primary professional associations supporting building-level and district-level administrators respectively, and both run extensive professional development programmes including the Indiana Principal Leadership Institute and the EPIC Superintendent Academy.

Following the voices in this list is a practical starting point. Several of the leaders in this directory are active on LinkedIn, posting on the real-time challenges and priorities shaping their work. George Philhower's posts on Joy Jam and competency-based learning, Mark Daniel's posts on AI in education and workforce preparation, and Chad Addie's posts on school governance and community development represent the kind of practitioner-generated thinking that rarely appears in formal research but that reflects what district leaders are actually navigating.

Engaging with the professional development ecosystem is equally important. The IASP's Fall Professionals Conference, the IAPSS annual meeting, and programmes like EPIC and IPLI are the places where Indiana school leaders convene to learn from each other, and they represent entry points for anyone seeking to understand or contribute to the state's education leadership conversation.

For school and district leadership teams in Indiana looking to build the team culture, communication structures, and collaborative frameworks that allow improvement to take hold, Jonno White, author of Step Up or Step Out (10,000+ copies sold) and Certified Working Genius Facilitator, works with schools and organisations globally. Jonno facilitates Working Genius workshops, DISC sessions, executive team offsites, and keynote presentations for education leadership teams. Many Indiana schools find that international travel is far more affordable than expected, and virtual facilitation options are available for teams that prefer on-site flexibility. Email jonno@consultclarity.org to discuss your team's needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes Indiana school leadership distinctive compared to other Midwest states?

Indiana's combination of an active school choice landscape, a Secretary of Education structure rather than an elected superintendent, and a relatively flat state funding formula creates a distinctive operating environment. School leaders in Indiana navigate more direct competition for student enrolment than most Midwest states, while simultaneously operating within tighter state policy constraints on curriculum, diploma pathways, and school accountability. The 2025 legislative session's 43 education-related bills gave Indiana one of the most active legislative environments for K-12 education in the country.

How are Indiana principals and superintendents recognised and developed?

Indiana's principal professional community is primarily served by the Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP), which runs the Indiana Principal Leadership Institute, the New Administrator Leadership Institute, and an annual award programme that recognises outstanding leaders at the elementary, middle school, high school, and assistant principal levels across twelve geographic districts. The Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents (IAPSS) runs the EPIC Superintendent Academy for experienced superintendents and the Indiana Aspiring Superintendent Academy for those preparing to move into district leadership.

Who oversees public education in Indiana at the state level?

The Indiana Secretary of Education, currently Dr. Katie Jenner, oversees the Indiana Department of Education and reports to the Governor as a cabinet-level secretary. Indiana eliminated its elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction position, replacing it with an appointed Secretary of Education in a significant governance change. The Indiana State Board of Education sets policy and oversight for K-12 education, and the Commission for Higher Education oversees postsecondary institutions.

What is the Indiana Principal Leadership Institute?

The Indiana Principal Leadership Institute (IPLI) is a two-year professional development programme hosted by Indiana State University and supported by the Indiana Association of School Principals. It is designed for established principals with five or more years of experience and combines intensive seminars, regional cohort mentoring, and a second-year component in which participants bring teacher leaders into the programme to build leadership capacity throughout their schools.

What is the EPIC Superintendent Academy?

The EPIC (Educators Preparing Inspired Change) Superintendent Academy is a professional development programme for sitting Indiana superintendents with three or more years of experience, presented by IAPSS in partnership with Butler University and the Lacy School of Business. It focuses on executive leadership, systems thinking, strategic innovation, and business acumen, drawing on cross-sector partnerships with Indiana's business community. Jeff Butts and Jack Parker are among its facilitators, and Cohort 9 in 2025-2026 includes twelve sitting Indiana superintendents.

Final Thoughts

The 50 leaders in this directory represent a cross-section of Indiana school leadership in 2026, from the state's highest education office to rural elementary schools and the professional associations that serve them all. They do not represent every outstanding school leader in Indiana. They represent a documented sample of the people whose contributions to the field can be verified, whose current roles are confirmed, and whose work speaks to the full geographic and sector diversity of Indiana's education landscape.

What stands out across the group is the density of professional infrastructure supporting Indiana school leadership. The IASP and IAPSS run some of the more sophisticated principal and superintendent development programmes of any state in the country, the IPLI and EPIC programmes have genuine depth and track record, and the state's award and recognition culture creates sustained visibility for excellent building-level and district-level practice.

The challenge Indiana school leadership faces is the same challenge facing school leadership across the United States: the role has become harder, the pipeline has thinned, and the political and community context has become more contested. The leaders in this list are not managing around that challenge. They are leading directly into it.

For school and district leadership teams looking to build the alignment, communication, and team dynamics that allow sustained improvement, Jonno White works with schools and organisations globally through facilitation sessions, Working Genius workshops, and executive team offsites. Email jonno@consultclarity.org or visit consultclarity.org to explore how Working Genius and the broader leadership tools Jonno brings can support your team. International travel is often far more affordable than clients expect.

For more on influential school and system leaders globally, see the post '49 Influential Educational System Leaders to Follow on LinkedIn' at consultclarity.org: https://www.consultclarity.org/post/educational-system-leaders-follow-linkedin.

About the Author

Jonno White is a Certified Working Genius Facilitator, author of Step Up or Step Out, and leadership consultant who has worked with schools, corporates, and nonprofits around the world. His book Step Up or Step Out has sold over 10,000 copies globally, and his podcast The Leadership Conversations has featured 230+ episodes reaching listeners in 150+ countries. Jonno founded The 7 Questions Movement with 6,000+ participating leaders and achieved a 93.75% satisfaction rating for his Working Genius masterclass at the ASBA 2025 National Conference. Based in Brisbane, Australia, Jonno works globally and regularly travels for speaking and facilitation engagements. Organisations consistently find that international travel is far more affordable than expected. To book Jonno for your next keynote, workshop, or facilitation session, email jonno@consultclarity.org.

Next Read

For a broader view of school system leaders making an impact globally and on LinkedIn, including superintendents, trust CEOs, and researchers shaping K-12 worldwide, explore the post '49 Influential Educational System Leaders to Follow on LinkedIn' at: https://www.consultclarity.org/post/educational-system-leaders-follow-linkedin