Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites

William (Bill) Browne, Jr., is the president and founding principal of RATIO Architects. Since establishing RATIO more than 30 years ago, Bill has led the expansion of the firm to four studio locations in Indianapolis, Chicago, Illinois, Raleigh, North Carolina, and Champaign, Illinois, a growing national body of expertise, and an international presence with work in Korea, China and Malaysia. Many of the firm’s most significant projects are located close to its home state of Indiana, including the expansion of the NCAA Headquarters, the Big Ten Conference Headquarters, the Indiana Convention Center, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the Notre Dame Stadium Master Plan, numerous higher education facilities, and of course, the Indiana State Museum. Bill is an active member of the Indianapolis community, currently serving as president of the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission. Bill also is involved with the White River State Park Commission, the Marian University Cycling Advisory Board, the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee, the American Institute of Architects and Indiana Landmarks. He was a member of the 2012 Super Bowl Host Committee.

Thao Nguyen is a partner at Plews Shadley Racher & Braun where she focuses her practice on insurance coverage for policyholders and complex environmental and commercial litigation. She also handles transactions involving environmentally impacted real estate for both buyers and sellers. Thao represents companies from Fortune 100 to small, family-owned enterprises. She is a past chair of the Indiana State Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section. She has served on the board of governors of the St. Joseph County Bar Association and was chair of the Pro Bono Committee for many years.

Alice Kingsbury Schloss is an Indianapolis native who has lived in Indianapolis most of her life. She also lived briefly in Newburgh during childhood, Massachusetts while attending Mount Holyoke College, Chicago as an intern for Red Cross’ Service to Military Families and Philadelphia for graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work. She and her husband Bob returned to Indianapolis in 1965 where they raised their two sons and a daughter. Though she received a Master of Social Work (MSW)from IU School of Social Service, Alice has made a career of volunteer service in educational, cultural, medical and social issue organizations. Though no longer an activist, she supports such not-for-profits as a board member and philanthropist. Current board memberships other than the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites include the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the International Violin Competition, Herron School of Art and Design Advisory Board, and Eskenazi Health Foundation.

A native of Pennsylvania, Robin Winston is a graduate of the University of Louisville. He has served as a Chief of Staff in government and is the former Chair of the Indiana Democratic Party during the term of Governor Frank O’Bannon. Now a successful businessman in Indianapolis, he runs one the largest minority-owned government-affairs, community-relations and public-outreach firms in the nation. Robin is a life member of the NAACP. In addition, he is a political analyst for CBS4 and FOX59.

Cathy Ferree was named president and CEO of the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites (ISMHS) on May 1, 2017. In her time at ISMHS, she has developed a new strategic plan for the institution, along with refreshed mission, vision and value statements. She has put relevancy at the forefront for the museum system, opening experiences to address topics important to visitors today, including “FIX: Heartbreak and Hope Inside Our Opioid Crisis” and “Major Taylor: Fastest Cyclist in the World.” She has also put new emphasis on attracting families and creating lifelong learners through initiatives such as a dedicated early childhood programming space called Firefly Landing. Prior to her time at ISMHS, she served as vice president and chief operating officer at Conner Prairie, overseeing facilities, programming, education, exhibits and more. Before her time there, she served as the associate vice president of exhibits at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis; director of exhibits, programs and operations on the first leadership team at The Children’s Museum of Atlanta; and more.

Ferree currently serves as a board member for the Walther Cancer Foundation Inc., Park Tudor School and Asante Art Institute of Indianapolis Inc. She is also a member of the Noyce Leadership Institute and the Getty Leadership Institute. Ferree has more than 30 years of experience in the museum industry. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Public Affairs in Nonprofit Management from Indiana University.

Gary Anderson received his medical degree from the University of Michigan and continued his medical education at Indiana University. He served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and Fort Bragg and subsequently became an academic cardiologist. After moving into the corporate world, he became CEO of several companies in communications and database management. Subsequently, he co-founded TL Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on high technology investments. Gary has held numerous positions in the nonprofit sector, including directorships in the Franklin Institute, Indiana University Foundation (IUF), Indiana University Research and Technology Corporation and served as chair of the IUF Investment committee. He has also served on the IU Advisory Boards of the Kelley School of Business, the School of Informatics and Computer Engineering, the Jacobs School of Music (chair) and the Center for Constitutional Democracy (chair). He is married to his wife, Kathy. They have five children and live in Brown County.

Linda Conti serves as the senior vice president and wealth advisor of Noyes Financial Group. She acts as team leader for successful individuals and families who seek to focus and manage their financial lives. As a three-time winner of Indianapolis Monthly’s Top Wealth Managers, Linda assists her clients with all aspects of their financial security: asset, liability, risk and transition management. Her strength is listening to clients’ goals, concerns and needs, and matching them to experts who can help, whether it is with tax or legal issues or with paying their bills. Linda also has 14 years of industry experience at Merrill Lynch, A.G. Edwards and Wachovia.

Nancy Jordan is senior vice president of Individual Annuity Operations at Lincoln Financial Group, and a member of the company’s Corporate Leadership Group. Nancy and her team are responsible for issuing, providing post-sale service and retaining Lincoln’s variable and fixed annuity products. She is professionally affiliated with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Indiana CPA Society and the Financial Executives International. She is also actively involved in a number of industry groups and advisory boards. Active in community affairs, Nancy is Lincoln’s site leader for the Fort Wayne operations. She is on the board of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership and its insurance economic development cluster. She is a board member for Greater Fort Wayne Inc. and a member of its Downtown Development Committee.

Judy Singleton, from Indianapolis, is a seventh-generation Hoosier with a deep interest in Indiana history. The author of two books on Indiana’s Trailblazing Women, Judy also is a businesswoman and community volunteer. In 1986, she co-founded Singleton Associates, a commercial real estate investment company. In 1990, she co-founded the Richard G. Lugar Excellence in Public Service Series, a program to develop women political and government leaders now with over 1,500 graduates nationwide. Named to an early list of “Most Influential Women” by the Indianapolis Business Journal, Judy serves on the board of the Lugar Series and has served on the boards of the Indiana Commission for Women, Girls Inc., Indiana Women’s Archives, the Indiana 4-H Foundation and the Purdue HSS Alumni Association. She received the Indiana Woman of Achievement Award from Ball State, the Hoosier Torchbearer Award from the Indiana Commission for Women, and was inducted into the Carmel High School Alumni Association Hall of Fame.

Mary Walker is the executive director of the Wayne County Convention & Tourism Bureau Inc., serving in that role since 1981. In addition to the Indiana State Museum, she is a board member for the Indiana University East Board of Advisors and Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce (WCACC). She also is a member of numerous community organizations.

John has founded, co-founded or served in C-level roles in several high-growth and venture-backed startups including Formstack, Formspring, DeveloperTown, Vontoo, Wishoo and beenz. In 2012, John founded Launch Fishers, a 52,000-square-foot launch pad for start-ups and high-potential enterprises with the goal of being a catalyst for economic development. In 2014, John founded the statewide entrepreneurial mentorship initiative Launch Indiana, andhe continues to serve as an active advisor to entrepreneurs and startup teams. In 2017, John founded The Indiana IoT Lab in Fishers, a 24,000-square-foot innovation and commercialization hub for Internet of Things-related enterprises. John has been a lifetime volunteer with community and nonprofit organizations and currently serves on the board of directors of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, where he co-chairs the Technology & Innovation Council. John also served in the U.S. Army, where he learned the art of rappelling from helicopters as an Air Assault-Qualified Combat Engineer in the First Cavalry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas.