News Release

WARSAW — Local representatives from OrthoWorx, Manchester University, Grow Wabash, Whitley County Community Schools and Ivy Tech have been named among working group members in the Don Wood Foundation and Questa Education Foundation initiative for community solutions.

Less than two months ago, more than 250 community stakeholders, area K-12 and higher education leadership, educators, philanthropists, nonprofits and business leaders joined the Don Wood Foundation and Questa Education Foundation to develop solutions for our community. A battle cry for change was issued by DWF and Questa after takeaways from the Advancing Postsecondary Education and Training Study were presented. Attendees listened to stories about the hardships of attaining postsecondary credentials and student voices of concern and ultimately hope for this coalition to find and implement solutions.

Attendees gave immediate feedback on priorities for the coalition to address, and then everyone was invited to commit at some level to the hard work that lay ahead of the region.

“We were thoroughly impressed by the favorable response and substantial support received,” stated Patrick Buesching, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at the Don Wood Foundation.

“The community has demonstrated a commitment to collaboratively develop solutions for the issues addressed in the study.”

The Coalition focuses on education and workforce needs in our 12-county region of northeast Indiana primarily devoted to enhancing postsecondary attainment, tackling barriers, and aligning educational outcomes with regional employer demands.

“Having representatives from the local-, regional-, and state-level committed to working together on important education and training issues speaks highly of our ability to unite as a region,” said Elizabeth Bushnell, executive director, Questa Education Foundation.

The working groups include a resource network, a student learner group, and an adult learner group, and they are co-led by foundation and community representatives. An additional advisory council consisting of state and regional leaders will act as a sounding board to tackle complex system-level and policy issues requiring engagement by multiple entities, including those outside of the region. Those interested in CAPET updates should visit the website and join the newsletter.

Local group members include:

• Lori Heuer, Whitley County Community Schools, Student Learners Working Group member.
• Kim Barnett-Johnson, Ivy Tech Community College, Student Learners Working Group member.
• Leon Letter, Manchester University, Resource Network Working Group member.
• Chelsea Parson, Grow Wabash County, Resource Network Working Group member.
• JoAnne Alvarez, Ivy Tech Community College, Resource Network Working Group member.
• Allyn Decker, OrthoWorx, Adult Learners Working Group member.
• Tracy Davis, Ivy Tech Community College, Adult Learners Working Group member.