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McCawBetsy McCaw spearheaded the launch of the 16 Tech real estate project with hardly a peep of protest from residents who will be affected.
The project overlaps with several neighborhoods, but McCaw won them over early, meeting with area leaders to explain how 16 Tech could benefit them.
McCaw, who is chief operating officer of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership and president of the 16 Tech Community Corp., emphasized that while the project is designed to be a magnet for highly educated workers, more than half of the 9,100 projected jobs would likely be low- or middle-skill positions. She also asked the City-County Council for $75 million in bonds, with $3 million earmarked for neighborhood improvements. After testimony by neighborhood groups, the council OK’d the bonds.
“16 Tech represents an opportunity for the city of Indianapolis to accelerate its economic growth in ways it has not had before by creating a place where talent and innovation and collaboration can all come together,” she said.
McCaw, 39, was a business analyst for five years after earning a bachelor’s in finance from Notre Dame. She earned an MBA at Duke University and worked for Bayliner, a division of Brunswick Corp. focused on boating. After seven years, she left without a new job. She said people should “take a risk” and “trust yourself and the skills you’ve built.”
She spent a year as a consultant to the education reform groups Stand for Children and TeacherMatch, before joining CICP.
—J.K. Wall
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