EmployIndy remains saddened by the passing of Dr. Mechelle Polter, Senior Director of its Talent Bound program—which she largely created—on Wednesday, March 22^nd. To add to the shock of such an unexpected loss, Mechelle (she preferred for people to not call her Dr. Polter) had been in a Microsoft Teams meeting with many of her teammates that very day, before she experienced unexpected health complications in her home.

In the shock and grief of the next few days, and as stories got told about cats and birthday parties and wine tastings and Mechelle’s humor and love for plants and the fortitude it takes to complete a Ph.D. over six years while also mothering and working full-time, one thing was clear: there was no shortage of people who would line up to talk about their interactions with, and affection for, Mechelle.

“What can I not say about Mechelle?” Associate Director of Talent Bound, Matt Simpson, said. “She was my mentor, my friend, my go-to for everything work-based learning, for family and faith and life in general. She was knowledgeable about so many things and so humble. We had some similarities in life’s hardships, and I saw how she had overcome those challenges while never forgetting where she came from.”

As Talent Bound Manager Tressie Kaufman recalled evenings spent wandering through art galleries on “First Fridays” with Mechelle, she noted that even when Mechelle was away from work, she still loved to brainstorm about and set goals for Talent Bound. But that doesn’t mean Mechelle cared only about work, and she had a way of making the people around her feel seen. “She knew a lot of people,” Kaufman observed, “and I’ll never forget how valued she made me feel when she introduced me to some of those people.” Kaufman also added that one of Mechelle’s favorite questions was “How can I help?”

Mechelle loved her work but also loved to play, as seen here at the Talent Bound team's 2022 holiday outing.

Coworkers outside of Mechelle’s Talent Bound team also noticed her efforts to make others feel welcome, through her seat on EmployIndy’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Affinity Group.  In this role, Mechelle was faithful and wholehearted in her participation as the group planned events, created spaces, and set goals for how to make EmployIndy an organization where all people feel they belong.

And it wasn’t only Mechelle’s colleagues at EmployIndy who were affected by her mission-oriented approach to life and work.  Mechelle has served since 2019—the same year EmployIndy hired her—on the Area 31 Career Center Executive Leadership Council. “She was committed to researching best practices and doing everything she could to advance opportunities for young people,” the center’s Director, Dr. Patrick Biggerstaff, said.

Sarah Koontz, from Horizon Education Alliance, interacted with Mechelle on the Indiana Community of Practice for Modern Youth Apprenticeships and agreed with Biggerstaff’s sentiment: “She was a quiet leader with a passion for helping students.” Noel Ginsburg from CareerWise USA added that “Her spirit will endure within this movement over the years and generations to come. We are endlessly grateful for her warmth, dedication, expertise, and countless other qualities she possessed and shared with all of us.”

Mechelle worked tirelessly to launch the Modern Apprenticeship program, alongside our team and partners at Ascend Indiana. “Mechelle was an incredible partner, thinker, leader, and friend to so many in the Indianapolis community. She believed deeply in opening doors to opportunity for young people and was a key thought leader and partner as we started the Modern Apprenticeship program,” said Stephanie Bothun, VP and co-founder of Ascend Indiana. “The Ascend Indiana team was constantly inspired by her work ethic and dedication to youth apprenticeship despite the many challenges that came our way. Our organization and our community are fundamentally better off because of everything Mechelle accomplished. We will miss her dearly.” 

Fashion was among Mechelle’s many eclectic interests, so perhaps it’s not a surprise that she was aware of Pattern. The local magazine initially launched Stitchworks—a 501c3 in downtown Indianapolis that provides sewing training and certification to urban high school students—just before the pandemic shutdowns in March of 2020. The program had to pause almost immediately, but not for long, because Eskenazi Health needed 5,000 gowns, and quickly. One hundred fashion designers and hobbyists were hired for the task, and the partnership began to attract media attention.

This is where Mechelle got involved, in the fall of 2020. There was then, and still is now—like in many industries—a shortage of workers with the needed skillset. To hear Pattern Executive Director, Polina Osherov, tell it, Mechelle reached out through a website contact form. The two have met several times since then, including as recently as three weeks ago, to plan out and implement a Registered Apprenticeship program for sewers. “If it weren’t for Mechelle,” Polina said, “we would still be trying to figure this out three years later.” She described Mechelle’s loss as “a huge blow.”

Mechelle was amongst the inaugural members of the U.S. Department of Labor's Apprenticeship Ambassador Initiative to visit the White House last year.

The loss of Dr. Mechelle Polter is a huge blow, for her family and for EmployIndy, and for Indianapolis as a whole. May stories of her life continue to be told, even as they remind us of the gap the loss of Mechelle leaves behind.

A visitation will be held at Indiana Funeral Care on Allisonville Road on Friday, April 7, beginning at 4:00 p.m. with a funeral service to follow at 6:30.

Though eligibility criteria and application processes are still being formed, EmployIndy, alongside Mechelle’s family, will create the Dr. Mechelle Polter Memorial Scholarship fund. Interested parties can donate here. Her legacy to Indianapolis will be further recognized through the inaugural Youth Apprenticeship Employer award at this year’s Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity, renaming it the Dr. Mechelle Polter Youth Apprenticeship Employer of the Year award.