The Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership Series® is the 10-month Leadership Indianapolis flagship program that brings together 25 emerging leaders to learn about the issues that drive Indiana.

The SKL Series began in 1976 to honor Stanley K. Lacy, who had established himself as a recognized leader in Indianapolis while he was in his mid-twenties before he was killed in an automobile accident in 1973. Three years later, Edna Lacy established The Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership Series to honor his memory by encouraging and supporting other young professionals in their community work.

Since its inception, more than one thousand people have gone through the ten-month program and many of the significant leaders in Indianapolis are graduates of the program or have served as moderators, such as Carolene Mays-Medley, Mark Miles, Brian Payne, Joe Slash, and Judge Sarah Evans Barker.

Last Year’s Class

Central Indiana Community Foundation and the Indianapolis Foundation President + CEO Brian Payne, who served as Moderator for SKL Class XLI, chose Opportunity Equality: Creating A Place Where Everyone Has A Fair Chance as his overarching theme.

For ten months, the speakers and class discussions focused on the idea that we need to make sure that opportunities are available for everyone. That means thinking purposefully about reaching out to people of color, women, and other groups that have traditionally had fewer outlets to success.

As the president of a large community foundation, he has a heightened awareness of the barriers that people face, and he’s seen and understands the value of having a diverse, vibrant community leadership.