Graham Richard was an Indiana state senator for four years, enjoyed a successful 20-year business career and served as mayor of Fort Wayne, his hometown, for two terms. Today, he brings those past experiences together as CEO of Advanced Energy Economy. Richard is particularly enthusiastic about the prospects for Indiana in combining its industry strengths with the economic opportunities available from new and developing forms of energy. Here’s a profile of Richard when he was named the Indiana Chamber’s 2007 Government Leader of the Year (www.bizvoicemagazine.com/media/archives/07novdec/AAD-Richard.pdf).

Lee Hamilton not only represented Indiana’s 9th Congressional District for 34 years, but has remained a national voice of reason on foreign affairs, national security and so many other issues. He literally wrote a book on how Congress should work – and tells us today that our representatives and senators are not fulfilling two of their primary duties. In addition, he notes President Trump’s agenda is “moving us in a direction unlike any of his predecessors.” Hamilton was the 1997 Indiana Chamber Government Leader of the Year. Learn more about this year’s Annual Awards event on November 7 (www.indianachamber.com/index.php/products-conferences/conference-listing/eventdetail/187/62/28th-annual-awards-dinner).

Jamie Merisotis wrote a 2015 bestselling book titled America Needs Talent and has made nearly 100 appearances in what he terms the “book tour that never ended.” The president and CEO of the Lumina Foundation has called Indiana home for nearly the past decade, but he is a national and international thought leader on education and the workforce. He makes the compelling case for how talent development and talent attraction need to work in tandem to help achieve the individual and collective goals of American prosperity. And learn more in a bonus episode.

Our inaugural podcast features a bonus episode with Jamie Merisotis. We continue the conversation on strategies for education success and you can learn more about Jamie away from his work at the Lumina Foundation.

EchoChamber, the Indiana Chamber’s new podcast, will debut in mid-July. EchoChamber will feature insightful interviews with Indiana leaders in business, education, technology, politics and more. Listen when it is most convenient for you. We encourage you to subscribe at iTunes, GooglePlay or visit indianachamber.com/echochamber to be notified of upcoming podcasts.