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Self-made James Joseph leads with empathy to inspire even the most unlikely leaders James Joseph has never had to look far for guidance and inspiration: “If my father ever had a bad day, I didn’t know it. If he ever rushed to judgement, I didn’t see it,” Joseph said. “My…

Andrew Dawson speaks to the rewards of building a team of leaders The late Al Rent, who was a fixture at Ball State University, told Andrew Dawson early in his career, “You are only as successful as people allow you to be.” The truism has grown to become somewhat of…

Shafer Leadership Academy and Eastern Indiana Works Partner with the YWCA Central Indiana to help residents gain employment. “That program gave me my mama back,” Samantha Long said of a novel partnership to empower and equip her mother and others with the confidence, resources and skills needed to move from…

How Shafer Leadership Academy inspired Boys and Girls Clubs CEO to embrace his offbeat style and the approaches of others. Jason Newman’s rise to leadership was a slow burn that started far from kids and thousands of miles from Muncie, where he serves as CEO of the Boys and Girls…

Kellie Pearson-Carroll’s passionate purpose is a result of her environment. She watched her mother navigate the healthcare system for support with her brother’s intellectual disabilities and schizophrenia. All people, she said, deserve decent healthcare and respect despite their diagnosis. Pearson-Carroll grew up in a loving community, but she and her…

Bare shelves, inflated prices, and late deliveries are among the results of the nation’s scarcity of blue-collar workers. According to a 2021 report from Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute, 77% of manufacturers have ongoing difficulties attracting and retaining workers. The manufacturing skills gap could leave as many as 2.1 million…

WaTasha Barnes Griffin is leading SLA to invite more diversity to the table When WaTasha Barnes Griffin speaks, you listen. Whether she is addressing a crowd as CEO of the YWCA of Central Indiana or chatting with you at a neighborhood cleanup, Barnes Griffin speaks with intention. You get the…

Other leadership seminars taught Lance Paxson to play checkers. Shafer Leadership Academy taught him to play chess. “Many professional development sessions I’ve attended have been ‘one size fits all,’ but Shafer’s programs are personalized,” said Paxson, a senior production manager at FCC Indiana in Portland. “Members of the Shafer team…