INDIANAPOLIS — Today, February 6, 2023, EmployIndy, Marion County’s Workforce Development Board, has named Esther Woodson as its new executive director of Indy Achieves. Effective immediately, Woodson succeeds Matt Impink who has led the initiative since its launch by Mayor Joe Hogsett and his administration in 2018. Woodson joined EmployIndy in February 2019, most recently serving as senior director for Indy Achieves.  

Indy Achieves is focused on closing the skills gap in Indianapolis by increasing the proportion of residents with high-quality credentials to 65% by 2027 and by eliminating the attainment gaps that currently exist for minority students. To accomplish this, Indy Achieves works to actively increase the number of individuals who apply for existing financial aid programs such as 21st Century Scholars and FAFSA, as well as provide Promise Scholarships, Completion Grants and wraparound support services for Marion County students who attend Ivy Tech Indianapolis and IUPUI. 

Woodson, a native of Indianapolis, is a proud graduate of Indianapolis Public Schools and a 21st Century Scholar, attending Crispus Attucks Middle School and Northwest High School. She then went on to pursue her undergraduate degree at the Indiana University School of Journalism, followed by 15 years in secondary and post-secondary education in Indianapolis and will complete her pursuit of a graduate degree in Management and Leadership later this year. Today she attributes her personal and professional achievements to the 21st Century Scholars Program, along with a host of family, mentors, teachers and friends.  

“Indy Achieves Scholars are the future workforce and leaders of Marion County,” said Woodson. “I am excited to lead Indy Achieves forward, working collaboratively with K12 and postsecondary to ensure all Indianapolis students, particularly minorities, have the education, experiences and resources needed to complete a high-quality credential that leads to good and promising jobs in our community.” 

To improve access to postsecondary education, Indy Achieves processed 710 21st Century Scholars applications, accounting for roughly 19 percent of the overall scholars from Marion County in the 2021-2022 school year. To ensure postsecondary persistence and completion, Indy Achieves offers coaching services and scholarships that supported 199 graduates at IUPUI and Ivy Tech Indianapolis last year. This student success coaching model has increased postsecondary retention by as much as a13 percent over comparison groups.  

“This year, as Esther takes the reigns, Indy Achieves will grow by half a million dollars in City funding,” said Mayor Joe Hogsett. “That will enable our growing program to impact hundreds of additional Indianapolis students, many of them traveling a path that Esther knows personally.” 

Woodson has been recognized locally by several organizations for her commitment to education and community, receiving the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana Big Sister of the Year Award in 2015 and the Live United Volunteer of the Year Award in 2014. She was recently a finalist for both the Center for Leadership Development Minority Achievers Award in 2022 and the Inspire Awards “The Power of Mentoring” Youth Mentor in 2018. A member of The Father's Heart Ministries Church, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Chi Chi Omega Chapter, and an active Big Sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana, Woodson resides on the west side of Indianapolis with her husband and two teenage sons.  

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A photo of Woodson can be sourced here. 

About EmployIndy 

EmployIndy guides the local workforce ecosystem and makes strategic investments to remove barriers to quality employment for underserved and underrepresented residents. Our vision is for all Marion County residents to have access to services and training necessary to secure a livable wage and grow in a career that meets employer demand for talent. As the workforce development board for Marion County, guided by 24 business, civic, education and nonprofit community leaders, EmployIndy invests over $20 million in public, private and philanthropic funds for both youth and adults annually. EmployIndy stands against all forms of racism – systemic, individual, and structural – as an anti-racist organization. Learn more at employindy.org.