Hogsett appoints director of metropolitan development, two other administration leaders

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration on Wednesday announced the appointment of a new Department of Metropolitan Development director and two other appointments to lead the city’s policy and governmental affairs.

Megan Vukusich, effective immediately, has become the city’s DMD director. She previously spent a year as the director of planning and zoning for the city of Fishers, and has been with the city of Indianapolis since September in a deputy director role for the DMD.

She will be tasked with overseeing real estate development, economic incentives, brownfields redevelopment, federal housing grant programs, downtown public spaces, legacy properties, planning, zoning, historic preservation and urban design for the city, according to the job posting, which pegged the salary at $100,000 to $104,000.

Vukusich takes the helm after a nearly three-month period in which the city was without a leader in the development sector.

In December, Scarlett Andrews, the city’s former deputy mayor of economic development, left her job to join Carmel-based real estate developer T&H Investments. Andrews’ exit came at the same time as former DMD Director Rusty Carr’s transition to The Parks Alliance of Indianapolis.

Jennie Fults, the administrator of community investments for DMD, served as interim director until Vukusich’s hiring.

Vukusich will likely be tasked with overseeing a long-awaited $600 million overhaul of Circle Centre Mall and the continuation of the city’s plan to build and own a convention hotel as part of $9 billion in upcoming downtown development slated for the next several years.

Vukusich is enrolled in Butler University’s master’s of data analytics program and has a bachelor’s degree in policy analysis from Indiana University.

Also beginning Wednesday, longtime Hogsett administration leader Aryn Schounce is the senior policy adviser for the Mayor’s Office. Most recently, she has served as the city’s director of government affairs and strategic initiatives, a role that began in 2023. In her six years with the administration, Schounce has worked as chief policy officer for both the DMD and the Department of Business and Neighborhood Services.

Prior to that, Schounce worked at Thomas P. Miller Associates and Big Car Collaborative. She has a master’s degree in public affairs and a bachelor’s degree in political science and women’s studies, both from IU.

The mayor’s former senior policy advisor, Jeff Bennett, departed in September to join the Central Indiana Community Foundation as chief innovation officer.

Taking up Schounce’s prior role as director of government affairs and strategic initiatives is Shea Joyce. Joyce, an  Indianapolis native and former campaign finance director for Democratic Congressman Andre Carson, will begin the position in March. She has a bachelor’s degree in communication from Valparaiso University.

It’s a continuation of the post-election leadership changes within the Hogsett administration, which has now held office for over eight years and has another four in store. The third-term mayor last week named a new police chief. In a statement, Hogsett called this a “pivotal time for Indianapolis.”

“I am proud to appoint leaders who are committed to shaping a stronger, more inclusive, and more prosperous Indianapolis to one of the most diverse mayoral cabinets in city history,” Hogsett said in a statement.