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Senior Vice President and Chief Mission and Education Officer, Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana
Achievements: Betsy Delgado leads a team of about 500 in Goodwill’s education and mission programs, including The Excel Center, Goodwill’s evidence-based high school for adults; Goodwill Nurse-Family Partnership, a program for first-time, low-income moms; and a number of mission programs that support the education, employment and health care needs of Hoosiers. One of her priorities has been the expansion of The Excel Center across the country, which is consistently opening schools to serve more adults who lack a high school diploma. There are currently 47 schools across more than a dozen states, with about 15,000 graduates. The goal is to have 85 schools by 2030.
Career track: Delgado’s background is in education and coaching. She taught in and led schools in California, Canada and the United Kingdom before coming to Indiana. She was recruited by Goodwill in 2011 to restructure The Excel Center.
Influential moment: Delgado was diagnosed with cancer in 2013. That summer, she and her team opened four schools. “Goodwill took incredible care of me during the most challenging time my family and I have ever experienced,” she said.
Givebacks: She has been a member of the Indy Chamber of Commerce since 2011 and was on the EmployIndy Workforce board of directors from 2016 to 2024. In 2017, she was selected for the Indy Reads Literacy Hall of Fame Award.
Influential person: Her basketball coach, Ken McNeely, at Aviano American High School in Aviano, Italy. “He taught me a lot about leadership and sacrifice and how to work together toward a common goal. He also taught me to try to lead with discernment, joy, responsibility, humor, trust, forgiveness and commitment. Mentors throughout my life have given the same advice, and I try to meet those expectations as much as possible.”
Advice for young women: “Hold grace for yourself and the women who work with you.”•
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