Governor-elect Mike Braun named a dozen individuals to a transition council focused on education, including well-known advocates for school choice and longtime public service leaders.
Secretary of Education Katie Jenner will lead the group as chair, solidifying that – for now – she’s sticking around in the Braun administration. The secretary position is appointed by the governor.
In a release Thursday from Braun’s transition team, the Education Transition Council was described as “dedicated to ensuring a high-quality education for all Hoosiers by raising standards in K-12 and higher education."
The council will also seek to expand school choice and enhance college and career readiness for high school graduates while “keeping curriculum focused on core education rather than political indoctrination” aligning with Braun’s education platform he campaigned to voters, according to a media release.
Braun named 10 more transition councils targeting health and family services, efficiency, energy and natural resources, and other areas of government.
Jenner will stay in her role as secretary and remain on the State Board of Education, the appointed body responsible for setting the state's educational goals and developing academic standards for local schools.
Jenner declined to comment on the council.
Braun said in a statement that individuals on each council “bring decades of public and private sector expertise to ensure a smooth and impactful transition."
Braun’s education plan released in September called for universal school vouchers, expanded school choice and increased teacher pay. Braun also reiterated his support for parental rights in schools.
Braun picked another well known advocate for school choice to his eight-member transition team – Betsy Wiley.
Wiley is president and CEO of Hoosiers for Quality Education, which advocates and promotes private school vouchers, charter schools and other choice options. She also served as deputy chief of staff under former Gov. Mitch Daniels.
Here’s who joins Jenner on Braun’s education council:
Caitlin Bell
Bell formerly served as Vice President, Policy & Government Relations at Hoosiers for Quality Education and the Institute for Quality Education — related organizations that support school choice access. Prior to that, she worked in various staff roles for Indiana House Republicans Caucus from 2007 to 2013.
Makenzie Binford
Binford graduated from Indiana University-Bloomington in 2023. During some of her school tenure, Binford worked for the Monroe County Republican Party as political director. She now works for Barnes and Thornburg in Indianapolis, according to her LinkedIn.
Jeff Cardwell
Cardwell previously served as chairman of the Indiana Republican Party. Cardwell also sat on the Indianapolis City-County Council from 2008 to 2013.
Jason Clark
Clark is the senior political director at Central Midwest Carpenters Union. The union endorsed Braun’s bid for governor. He’s also an elected trustee to the Central Midwest Regional Council of Carpenters’ Executive Board. Clark serves in various roles on boards and in elected positions for local unions.
Robert Enlow
For the past 28 years, Enlow has been the president of EdChoice, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit that advocates for school vouchers and promotes school choice across the country. It was created out of the foundation for economist Milton Friedman, and promotes Friedman’s ideas of “privatizing a portion of the educational establishment with school choice,” Enlow has written.
David Fagan
Fagan was appointed to the Ports of Indiana Commission by Gov. Eric Holcomb in 2020. He is also the financial secretary of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, based in northwest Indiana. Fagan and his wife have served as foster parents for many years. He lives in Portage.
Larry Garatoni
Garatoni is Board President of Career Academy Network of Public Schools, a charter school network in South Bend. The network started two charter schools in the city. He was appointed by Gov. Holcomb to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education in June. Garatoni founded HQ Investments, which manages publicly traded and private investments.
John Hammond III
Hammond III served as Indiana’s Republican National committeeman for three four-year terms, where he was also on the rules committee and a member of the executive committee. He is a partner in the Indianapolis-based Taft Law Firm’s Public Affairs Strategies Group.
Jason Kloth
Kloth was deputy mayor for education under Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard from 2012 to 2015. Kloth oversaw the city’s charter schools and helped create a law allowing Indianapolis Public Schools to partner with autonomous operators, not bound by collective bargaining, to run schools. He founded Ascend Indiana, which helps Hoosiers and employers connect, in 2016. He led the organization as president and CEO until Jan. 2024. He was also involved with Teach For America, according to his LinkedIn.
David Miller
Miller is a retired partner of Faegre Drinker law firm. Notably, Miller has regularly taken undergraduate classes at Indiana University-Bloomington, where he graduated from in 1971. He has endowed scholarships at his alma mater, IU McKinney School of Law and Wabash College.
Rick Wajda
Rick Wajda is the CEO of the Indiana Builders Association. He was named the 2024 State Executive Officer of the Year by the National Association of Home Builders. Braun has previously invited Wajda to Washington D.C. in order to testify on housing concerns.
Tom Wheeler
Wheeler is a partner at Bose McKinney Evans LLP, according to his LinkedIn. He provided “legal advice on campaign, finance, and election issues to political parties and candidates throughout the United States including former Indiana Governor and later Vice-President Mike Pence.”
WFYI investigative reporter Dylan Peers McCoy and education editor Eric Weddle contributed to this report.
Rachel Fradette is the WFYI Statehouse education reporter. Contact Rachel at rfradette@wfyi.org.
Copyright 2024 WFYI Public Media