Taft Named Senior VP For National LISC

Bill Taft

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Local Initiatives Support Corp. Indianapolis Executive Director William "Bill" Taft has been promoted to senior vice president for economic development for LISC National. His role will include leading the expansion of LISC’s economic and workforce development efforts nationally.

A search committee has been formed led by members of the LISC Indianapolis Local Advisory Board to conduct an internal and external search to fill this role. Taft will also remain executive director of the Indianapolis office until a new director is named.  

Since becoming a national LISC program vice president in 2014, Taft had also overseen programs in Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Duluth Minnesota, and has led efforts to expand LISC’s economic development efforts nationally. In this new role, he will continue to work from the Indianapolis office and be engaged in expanding economic development work locally, as well as across the country.

Taft was hired as Indianapolis executive director for LISC in 2005. Since its inception in 1992, LISC Indianapolis has invested more than $260 million to leverage almost $958 million dollars of investment in the core urban neighborhoods of Indianapolis. These investments in comprehensive community development include affordable housing, small businesses, community facilities, charter schools, commercial corridor revitalization, and green spaces. These occurred through LISC leadership in the Great Indy Neighborhoods Initiative, Fostering Commercial Urban Strategies, Centers for Working Families and Great Places 2020. 

He served as president of Southeast Neighborhood Development Inc. from 1991-2005. Under his leadership SEND invested more than $35 million into the early phases of revitalizing the Fountain Square Area of Indianapolis, created its cultural district, founded the SENSE Charter School, and formed partnerships with the University of Indianapolis. Before SEND, Taft was executive director of Main Street Richmond, and he also served with the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corp., Senator Richard Lugar and the National Park Service.