Meet The Mind Trust.
The Mind Trust has a full-time staff of dedicated professionals with a passion for changing education as we know it. This passion drives The Mind Trust’s work.
David Harris
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
David David Harris is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Mind Trust. Previously, Mr. Harris served as former Mayor Bart Peterson’s Charter Schools Director, where he built one of the nation’s most highly regarded charter school offices. As Charter Schools Director, Mr. Harris created a full-scale chartering operation from scratch; the initiative received Harvard University’s prestigious Innovations in American Government Award in 2006 and has been widely cited in the national media for its high level of rigor and transparency. In 2007, Mr. Harris was selected along with 24 other education leaders for the Aspen Institute and NewSchools Venture Fund’s inaugural Entrepreneurial Leaders for Public Education Program. Mr. Harris has received College Summit’s Let Talent Shine Award, as well as a Junior Achievement of Central Indiana’s Indy’s Best and Brightest Award. He has also been named one of the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Forty Under 40.
Previously, Mr. Harris served as an Assistant Deputy Mayor for Planning. From 1997 to 1999, Mr. Harris practiced law with the Indianapolis firm of Baker & Daniels. While at Baker & Daniels, Mr. Harris was one of the chief researchers and drafters of the Peterson Plan, the Mayor’s 1999 strategy for running city government. He also worked as a Governor’s Fellow under Governor Evan Bayh and was a Lyndon B. Johnson intern in the Office of Congressman Andrew Jacobs, Jr. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Northwestern University in 1992 and a law degree from Indiana University School of Law in 1997. Mr. Harris serves on the boards of the Nicholas H. Noyes Jr. Memorial Foundation, Teach Plus and Lighthouse Academies, and he holds a seat on the State of Indiana’s Charter Schools Review Panel. Mr. Harris also serves on the advisory boards of the Strategic Community Venture Fund and Western Governors University Indiana, and the local advisory boards for Teach For America, The New Teacher Project and College Summit.
Claire Fiddian-Green
President
Claire Fiddian-Green is the President of The Mind Trust. As President, Ms. Fiddian-Green works closely with the Founder and CEO to lead The Mind Trust and expand its influence in Indianapolis. Previously, Ms. Fiddian-Green served as Grants Officer for the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, a private foundation awarding grants to qualifying organizations in the greater Indianapolis area. Prior to her role at the Foundation, Ms. Fiddian-Green was employed by Eli Lilly and Company as a Senior Analyst in the company’s Corporate Finance Investment Banking group, where she focused on Licensing and Mergers & Acquisitions. Other experiences at Eli Lilly included the roles of Senior Financial Analyst and Six Sigma Sponsor in Research & Development. Before joining Eli Lilly and Company, Ms. Fiddian-Green worked as a management consultant in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with two separate consulting firms: Integral, Inc. and Mainspring, Inc. (which was subsequently purchased by IBM, Inc.). As a management consultant, Ms. Fiddian-Green worked with Academic Medical Centers and Global 500 clients in the Healthcare, Manufacturing and Retail sectors.
Ms. Fiddian-Green currently serves in a number of volunteer community roles, including: Board member for the Mayor-sponsored charter school KIPP Indianapolis College Preparatory; and Community Partnership Board member for Connected by 25, a foster youth independent living services initiative sponsored by United Way of Central Indiana. In 2009, Ms. Fiddian-Green was one of 25 emerging young leaders selected from a pool of applicants to participate in the Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership Series, a highly competitive year-long program that aims to expand the ranks of community leadership by providing class members with the knowledge and incentive to confront the needs of central Indiana. Ms. Fiddian-Green holds an Honors degree in Political Science and a degree in Russian Studies from Brown University, and an MBA from Columbia University with a concentration in Finance and General Management.
Anne Shane
Vice-President of Strategic Growth Initiatives
Anne Shane is the Vice-President of Strategic Growth Initiatives at The Mind Trust. As Vice-President of Strategic Growth Initiatives, Ms. Shane will lead The Mind Trust’s efforts to accelerate the growth of highly successful entrepreneurial education ventures in Indianapolis. Ms. Shane comes to The Mind Trust from her role as Vice-President at BioCrossroads where she helped direct Indiana’s leading initiative to grow the life sciences sector through workforce development, scientific collaborations and new business formation.
Before joining BioCrossroads, Ms. Shane served as a Community Development and Education Consultant to the Lilly Endowment, Inc. She also previously served as Chief of Staff under Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith. Ms. Shane is a board member of Develop Indy, a state trustee of Ivy Tech Community College and the former board chair of Teach for America-Indianapolis. Ms. Shane holds multiple additional leadership and advisory positions on the boards of other Indiana-based organizations, and was named one of the Indianapolis Business Journal’s “Most Influential Women” in 1996 and 2008. She has also been named the High Tech Woman of the Year, and was presented with the Indiana Commission on Women Trailblazer Award. Ms. Shane is a former President of the Junior League of Indianapolis, and is a 2010 Indiana Academy Appointee. Ms. Shane holds a BA in German from DePauw University, and an MS Ed from Indiana University
Ethan Gray
Vice-President
Ethan Gray serves as Vice President of The Mind Trust. Ethan oversees The Mind Trust’s efforts to support entrepreneurship nationwide, and advises the President and CEO on all issues of strategy and execution. He is an honors graduate of Harvard College and holds a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in education policy and management. Mr. Gray most recently served as the Policy Director at Be the Change, Inc. in Cambridge, MA where he led the policy agenda process for Be the Change, Inc.'s first campaign - ServiceNation - in an effort to expand national and community service opportunities. The resulting agenda, Strategies for Becoming a Nation of Service, strongly influenced the introduction of the Ted Kennedy/Orin Hatch "Serve America Act" (S.3487): a $5 billion bi-partisan bill, also co-sponsored by Senator McCain and President-Elect Obama. Prior to his work as Policy Director, Mr. Gray was the Director of Education Policy for Be the Change, Inc. In this role he built a working group of leading education entrepreneurs and reformers and drafted a long-term vision of systemic education reform based on leveraging the success of the education entrepreneurship movement. After college he worked as a research assistant at Education Sector in Washington, DC. Mr. Gray is an accomplished cellist and currently serves as the Vice-President of the board of trustees for the Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra.
Suzanne Anthony
Fellowship Manager
Suzanne Anthony serves as Fellowship Manager at The Mind Trust. In this role, she manages all aspects of the Education Entrepreneur Fellowship application process including review, selection and recruitment. Ms. Anthony works closely with the Education Entrepreneur Fellows developing and coordinating cohort events as well as supporting each of the Fellows individually as they develop and launch their initiatives. Additionally, she oversees The Mind Trust’s evaluation and accountability process for the Fellows. Previously, Ms. Anthony served as an Education Pioneers Summer Fellow with the Doris and Donald Fisher Fund and KIPP Foundation in San Francisco. From 2006 to 2007, she worked in Washington, D.C. on the legislative staff of U.S. Senator George Voinovich focusing on energy and environment issues. Ms. Anthony began her career in education in the classroom as a 7th and 8th grade history teacher in St. Louis. She also taught English in the small village of Yubla, Jordan where she served as a Peach Corps volunteer. Ms. Anthony holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Yale University and a master’s in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.