The Summit launches the Indiana Quality of Place Learning Partnership, a two-year effort led by the Civic Design Institute in partnership with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and Indiana Arts Commission.
Four Indiana communities join Columbus as the founding cohort, each bringing a real project to the Summit. Together, they’ll work with peers and national design leaders to strengthen their projects and explore what makes investments in quality of place endure.
The work continues through 2027, with each community hosting the cohort for a Learning Partnership visit and sharing what they learn with communities across Indiana.
Michigan City, Muncie, Rushville, and Terre Haute join Columbus as the founding cohort of the Indiana Quality of Place Learning Partnership, each led by its mayor.
Mary Ferdon
Columbus, Indiana
Mary Ferdon is the thirty-eighth mayor of Columbus, in office since January 1, 2024. Before her election she spent eight years as the city's Executive Director of Administration and Community Development, working with 450 employees to deliver streets, parks, animal care, and public services across more than one thousand acres of parkland. Earlier she taught at IUPUC, worked at Heritage Fund, the Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, and led Volunteers in Medicine. She holds a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's in urban administration from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She and her husband Steve have lived in Columbus for more than thirty years. Columbus hosts the Summit and the first Learning Partnership visit.
Angie Nelson Deuitch is a sixth-generation resident of Michigan City and its mayor since January 1, 2024. She previously served two terms on the Michigan City Common Council and brings more than twenty-five years of leadership in the telecommunications, utility, and manufacturing sectors. Her administration focuses on housing, infrastructure, neighborhood engagement, and economic development that reaches all residents. She holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Florida A&M University and a Master of Public Affairs from Indiana University, and her board service includes the Unity Foundation, United Way of LaPorte County, the Michigan City Economic Development Corporation, and the Urban League of Northwest Indiana.
Angie Deuitch
Michigan City, Indiana
Mike Pavey
Rushville, Indiana
Mike Pavey has served as mayor of Rushville since January 2012, following twelve years on the city council, eight of them as its president. Trained in architectural technology and engineering at Purdue University, he spent eighteen years as a project engineer before taking office. As mayor he has overseen the largest set of infrastructure projects in the city's history and helped three of Rushville's four largest employers expand. He revived Heart of Rushville, the city's Indiana Main Street program, and helped build the Riverside Park Amphitheater and its free summer concert series, which Ball State University's Building Better Communities recognized with a Primacy of Place award in 2014. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute.
Dan Ridenour
Muncie, Indiana
Dan Ridenour is mayor of Muncie, elected after four years on the Muncie City Council. He came to public office from thirty years in banking and finance, where he served as a regional manager for three banks, and he is the author of three books on credit scoring. A longtime community volunteer, he has worked on programs ranging from home repair for low-income seniors to kindergarten readiness in Muncie Community Schools. He and his wife Sherry have four children and four grandchildren.
Brandon Sakbun
Terre Haute, Indiana
Brandon Sakbun was born and raised in Terre Haute and became its youngest elected mayor in November 2023, at twenty-seven. He earned a bachelor's degree in finance from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business and a Master of Public Affairs from the O'Neill School. Commissioned in the U.S. Army in 2018, he served nearly five years on active duty, including two deployments with the 75th Ranger Regiment, and reached the rank of captain before joining the Indiana National Guard. His administration focuses on quality-of-life amenities, infrastructure, neighborhood parks, the regional economy, and public safety. He and his wife Paiton have two daughters.
