The Mind Trust, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was founded in 2006. Our founders, former Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson and President and CEO David Harris, saw firsthand the value that education entrepreneurs brought to students in Indianapolis through the award-winning charter schools initiative they built. They sought to expand the reach of education entrepreneurs to even more students – and beyond charter schools - by making Indianapolis one of the most attractive places in the country for talented entrepreneurs to start new educational ventures, and expand existing initiatives that have been successful elsewhere.
The Mind Trust builds on former Mayor Peterson’s charter schools initiative. In 2001, he became the nation’s first mayor with the authority to grant charters and oversee charter schools and Indianapolis’ program became the model for others around the country. Former Mayor Peterson appointed David Harris as the city’s first Charter Schools Director and together they built one of the nation’s most highly regarded charter school authorizing offices. In July of 2006, former Mayor Peterson and David Harris accepted Harvard University’s Innovations in American Government Award for the City’s charter schools initiative.