If you’re looking for Leeann Wright, you’ll do best to look outside. On nice weekends, you will usually find her somewhere under the wide Indiana sky. “Spending time outside with family recharges my battery,” she explains. Whether walking in Tippecanoe River State Park, enjoying a picnic in a town park, or paddling down the river, Leeann recognizes and shares what many of us here in Pulaski County feel. As she puts it, “our rural home is a place where we are deeply connected to the land, to tradition, and to one another.”
That deep connection to place is what originally brought Leeann back home to Pulaski County, where she grew up, and to the Community Foundation of Pulaski County. Now, as she celebrates three years as Executive Director, it continues to fuel her vision for our community’s future.
When Leeann joined the CFoPC, she wasn’t looking for just any leadership role. She was drawn to something more profound. In recent years, the Foundation has prioritized getting to the root of the needs and challenges that everyday folks in Pulaski County face. Instead of just putting band-aids on problems, they want to tackle the real obstacles. Getting to the heart of the matter is what motivated the Foundation to commission the 2019 “Conversations with our Community” report and the 2024 Strategic Visioning Plan.
Leeann is energized by this approach. “This ‘upstream thinking’ was quite attractive to me,” she confirms. “I love researching and thinking deeply about issues and how people can collaborate to improve our quality of place and life. The Foundation is uniquely positioned to make a big impact on the well-being of Pulaski County residents – it’s an honor to be a small part of that.”
Never short on enthusiasm, Leeann will be the first to tell you that this strategy is working for Pulaski County. But honestly, you don’t have to take her word for it. The proof is all around us. Go for a drive around the county with Leeann, and she’ll point out the CFoPC’s fingerprints everywhere.
“From improvements to parks, to creating gathering spaces, to the faces you see in the community–there are so many places! The Opera Pocket Park in Francesville, the Community Gazebo in Medaryville, upgrades to the Monterey and Star City Town Parks, the ‘Old Mill Pavilion’ in Pulaski.” The corners of her eyes crinkle as she offers an easy smile, proudly highlighting all the good she sees. “Community Grants have supported so many of our county’s existing nonprofit organizations and even created new ones to meet community needs. It’s wonderful to see those grants improving life here in Pulaski County.”
Looking Ahead
As proud as she is of everything the Community Foundation has already accomplished, it’s what’s happening right now that truly excites her. The Foundation is focusing energy on two county-wide challenges–substance misuse and access to early childhood education. The projects the CFoPC is supporting aren’t just another program or two for Leeann, either. They’re proof of what happens when a community decides to work together.
Leeann has worked closely with local community and business leaders to support the Recovery Café, a nonprofit creating a safe, welcoming place for those struggling with mental health or substance misuse issues, and to address the lack of access to good quality childcare–a problem that presents serious challenges for working families.
“What’s so exciting,” she explains while talking about the challenges families face finding childcare, “is that the collaboration is not just about simply meeting a need by increasing the number of seats. It looks at affordability for parents and ensures that our current providers are also supported – it’s a holistic approach that looks at the entire childcare system in our community.”
Asking The Right Questions
This collaborative approach shapes Leeann’s advice for people interested in working with the Foundation.
“The two questions I consistently ask are ‘Who are your partners or team members?’ and ‘What’s your budget?’ In Pulaski County–and rural America in general–we have to collaborate to most effectively use the resources available to us.”
Leeann is committed to ensuring that the Foundation practices what it preaches, too. She is working with the Foundation’s Board of Directors and the community to make sure the Foundation’s own leadership reflects every corner of the county it serves. That means different ages, perspectives, hometowns, and experiences, all working toward the same goal of a stronger Pulaski County.
The Strength of Our Roots
So, has three years at the Community Foundation changed how Leeann sees Pulaski County? It’s given her a front-row seat to our challenges, yes, but also our incredible capacity for caring. She thinks about this with real respect for the people she serves.
“The work of the Foundation requires thoughtful listening to the community and taking the time to deeply consider the issues affecting residents,” she meditates. “It allows me to have a more compassionate view of the wide variety of people who live in our community. Whether we know one another or not, our lives are profoundly intertwined. Rich, poor, older, younger, east, west–all of us are beautiful humans worthy of time and attention.”
There aren’t many people who reflect the Foundation’s values of passion, leadership, collaboration, integrity, and accountability in the way Leeann does. So when you run into her at Power from the Past or out on the Panhandle Pathway, don’t be shy. Tell her what you love about Pulaski County. Share what you hope for our rural home. Because as long as Leeann is leading CFoPC, she’s going to keep working for our shared vision of Pulaski County’s bright future.
That’s the kind of leadership Pulaski County deserves–someone who knows the strength of our roots. Who recognizes our challenges, but sees our potential, and isn’t afraid to work toward it, one collaboration at a time.