Lauren James might be Indiana’s number-one fan. Her many titles—which range from executive director to co-chair—all point to one main goal: A desire to add to Indiana’s Hoosier magic. For over a decade now, James has been working as an Indianapolis placemaker and driver of change within the community.
After graduating from Ball State in 2011, James spent a year in Poland as a Fulbright Scholar and cultural ambassador. While there, she became one of the founding writers of Wrocław Uncut, a resource for all things art and culture in the city that has since grown to an audience of 9,000 Facebook followers. As special as the experience was, James couldn’t help but feel pangs of homesickness as Indy hosted that year’s Super Bowl. Her longing to create an impact in Indy brought her back to the city the following year, when she accepted an internship opportunity with the Indianapolis Colts’ Community Relations Department. From there, she launched into a career in the tech industry, taking a position supporting ExactTarget’s field marketing team and serving on committees and auxiliary boards. After three years there, James took a dream job at TechPoint, Indiana’s tech ecosystem growth accelerator. She remained there for seven years, most recently as Vice President of Stakeholder Engagement.
This year has been particularly eventful for James, who married her husband Dr. Luke James in February, and bought a new house in Noblesville in May. Then in June, she began her role as Executive Director of the Mitch Daniels Leadership Foundation.
We squeezed our way into James’ jam-packed schedule to ask her all about her career, the Indy community she cares for so deeply, and what she’s up to when she’s not working (spoiler: she loves watercolor painting—particularly home renderings and florals!)
Katie Freeman: Before accepting your current position at the Mitch Daniels Leadership Foundation, you were the VP of Stakeholder Engagement at TechPoint. While in that role, how did you see arts and culture intersect with technology in Indianapolis?
Lauren James: The first thing that comes to mind was a summer program we hosted during the first year of the pandemic called SOS, which stood for Save our Summer. It’s since transitioned to The Pitch. It was an opportunity for individuals—likely rising freshmen and sophomores in college—that may have lost internship opportunities or didn’t get the chance to have an internship. We recruited 500 individuals that competed in virtual teams for five weeks. They addressed real-world situations and we had ten different challenges they could align themselves to. Some were more directed to the tech community, some were to the business community, and then many were to arts, culture, sports, and even transportation.
I loved that it gave individuals exposure to TechPoint in our work of building a top-tier tech ecosystem and a robust pipeline of talent, and also allowed them to channel their interests and expertise on projects that they cared about most. We brought in what we called coaches, who connected with those teams on a weekly basis—often multiple times a week. These were experts leading charges in arts, culture, and entertainment, mentoring them virtually. They served as the judges on the final projects as well. It was a unique opportunity for Indy experts in arts and culture to help shape next-generation thought leaders and entrepreneurs.
KF: You described the current season of your life as being “beautifully busy.” What does a typical week look like for you?
LJ: One of the things I pride myself in is ruthlessly prioritizing. My calendar is my life, down to every fifteen-minute increment from the time I wake up to the time I’m home. What’s key to my weeks: I get about eight to nine hours of sleep, which is my secret sauce.
My weeks each look a bit different. I’m typically in the office Mondays and Thursdays and then usually throughout the city and Central Indiana on the other days. I try to carve out my Fridays to be able to execute tasks. I’m mindful of having board meetings and other volunteer opportunities throughout the week, some nights and weekends. I’ve also been very intentional about making space to mentor. Every Monday I have on my calendar to do mentor outreach and ensure that I’m checking in with individuals that I am mentoring, and also reach out to those that have mentored me to ask for their coaching advice.
KF: If you had a day off, how would you spend it?
LJ: I love those random days that I wake up with literally nothing on the calendar. Lately on these free days, my husband and I love packing up the car with our 14-year-old miniature poodle and a backpack of snacks and supplies and taking road trips to Indiana’s magnificent state parks! It’s such a fun way of spending the day being together, experiencing Mother Nature and stumbling upon the magic of each small town along the way.
KF: What is a guilty pleasure of yours?
LJ: My wanderlust spirit loves to travel! The escape, excitement, and fulfillment that comes with seeing and experiencing the world is something I crave. For our wedding, we had 60 family and chosen family members come to Cozumel to celebrate with us. It was so beautiful seeing the friendships that formed; we’re already planning our next destination vacation as a big group!
In my younger years while in Poland, I also spent a lot of time traveling by myself and grew so much in that time when I could simply be quiet with my thoughts and observations while also experiencing vastly different cultures and traditions. There’s a quote on a mural at the Indianapolis Airport by poet Norbert Krapf that summarizes my pleasure for and perspective of traveling: “Back home on the ground, we discover that the gift the great wings gave us is new eyes to see that this place where we live we love more than we knew.”
KF: Helping advance the Indianapolis community is clearly a big passion of yours. What drives that desire to be involved and create a positive impact in the city?
LJ: That desire to be a difference maker was something ingrained in me from a young age. My mom instilled in my twin sister and me that the state has given us a gift, and if we do our job well as contributing citizens, we’re going to give that gift right back. That’s why I chose to come back from Poland and plant roots intentionally in Central Indiana. And now, why I’m leading the Mitch Daniels Leadership Foundation. I am a product of that program. I see its purpose and its value, and I believe in its potential. That is another vehicle for me to feel like I’m paying it forward and investing in the next generation of future leaders.
KF: What do you envision your leadership at Mitch Daniels bringing to the community?
LJ: I come from a small rural community in Northeast Indiana. And there are several distinguishable traits of our work at Mitch Daniels Leadership Foundation. First, our mission is to enable leaders and drive change for all Hoosiers. One of my aims is that 200 individuals will go through our programs in the next five years and that they will be representative of our Hoosier state. Currently, we’ve had twenty-one counties represented and five classes of fellows. My aim is that we can be as intentional, inclusive, and equitable as possible when expanding our reach and our impact. That includes rural communities that need leaders just as much as our big metropolitan communities do. Success for me would be at least 50 counties represented in our classes of fellows by Class Ten, and over 200 individuals that have participated in the program.
KF: How do you see your work with the fellowship program at MDLF advancing the creative economy in Indianapolis?
LJ: We’re looking for demonstrated leaders that have an entrepreneurial spirit—a fire in their belly. These Hoosiers are waking up every single day thinking about how they’re going to apply their passions, skill sets, network, and reach to truly drive change and embrace this bias towards action that our namesake has lifted up. That means we are inclusive of any type of economy, industry, or background, and are seeking fellows that want to make the state a better place to live, work, and play.
Given that we’re so well-rounded in our fellows and the change that they’re looking to drive, I think that’s going to be a big piece of how we’re going to advance our state with the arts and culture scene. For instance, one fellow’s capstone project last year was to lure an internationally-renowned artist to do a larger-than-life, world-class art installation to really put Indianapolis on the map—similar to the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Bean in Chicago. We also had a fellow from Class Two who is an author and wrote a children’s book. That’s arts and culture, and also education for next-generation Hoosiers. Those are two examples of how we’re encouraging our fellows to dig deep, understanding what’s fueling them to make the state better, and equipping them with resources and a network to drive the change forward.
KF: You also serve on committees and boards for various community organizations outside of MDLF. What do those roles look like?
LJ: I love that you asked that because I am in a season of reflection right now. Every year, I do what’s called a ‘mantra map’ where I reevaluate my priorities. My mantra map currently has three P’s in it.
Placemaking is always at the top. Serving as a board member for the Indiana Repertory Theatre, I am newly leading our nominating committee. That is really focused on bringing new, great minds and leaders who think uniquely to our work. I’ve also been serving four years now as the co-chair for Rev, which is IU Health’s premier fundraising event that serves as the kickoff to the month of May. I love it because it feels like the cultural epicenter meshed with the Indy 500 racing season.
The second ‘P’ is poverty alleviation. That extends to my roles as co-chair of United Way‘s annual campaign, a member of the executive committee, and a member of the technology fund for United Way.
I would describe the third ‘P’ as building a pipeline of Hoosier leaders. I also serve on a board for Ball State University called Discovery Women’s Philanthropic Fund, and I’m the membership director there. My entire charge is to grow the membership base, including young professionals, who are donating dollars to staff and student-led initiatives the university is advancing through our grant-making.
I know it sounds like a full plate, which is why I’m always in this mindset of annually reviewing my mantra map, how it aligns to my priorities, and where I want to focus on driving the most impact.
KF: What impacts have you seen throughout the past decade from your work across Indiana?
LJ: I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately. I’ve been attracted to the likes of Jim Collins, Adam Grant, Jen Sincero. And I go back to the Jim Collins quote in Good to Great, where he says “Life is people. Find a way to be useful and to be of service.” That is a mantra and a guiding post that I feel like I have embraced. I would hope someone answering that question about me would say that I’m building community intentionally, driving focus on impact, and being a good human by helping to uplift other individuals and investing in people through my servant leadership.
KF: Stepping aside from solely a career standpoint, what goals do you have for the future?
LJ: Each year I pick a new word or a phrase that I want to embrace and be meaningfully focused on. And this year, my phrase is “less is more.” So to answer that question, It’s simply being. It’s simply stepping back and taking time for clarity to focus on my roles, how I’m showing up in my relationships, and the responsibilities that I have to the world.
As I think about legacy, it’s feeling like I’ve contributed my gifts back to this community that’s given so much to me, and being a bold, positive, welcoming servant leader that feels strongly about the state. I would say that I’m one of the biggest Hoosier advocates a lot of people will probably ever meet. I want to make sure that I’m paying forward what’s been invested in me. That’s what I would hope would be true over ten years from now.
Want to keep up with Lauren? Give her a follow on Instagram and keep an eye out for upcoming Mitch Daniels Leadership Foundation events, such as the MDLF Annual Event on Dec. 8 at Crane Bay here in Indy.
