Influential person: Dr. Lisa Harris

In early December 2013, Dr. Lisa Harris, CEO of Eskenazi Health, oversaw the transfer of all staff and patients from the old Wishard Memorial Hospital to the new Eskenazi Hospital. The grueling process took eight hours, but Harris hardly felt intimidated.

“That day was the best day of my life,” she said.

Perhaps that’s because she’s devoted her entire professional life to Wishard, and now to Eskenazi. She came aboard in 1983 as a junior medical student, and for the last 17 years, she’s run the place. In 2009, she worked tirelessly to promote a public referendum to build the $754 million Eskenazi complex, which passed with an 85% yes vote. The hospital massively improved health services for the poor, which couldn’t make Harris happier.

“I am completely, inextricably linked to this place,” she said. “And I’m surrounded by people who feel the same.”