Staff

Deb Trocha, Executive Director 

Deb has been the executive director of the Indiana Cooperative Development Center since 2006 and during that time has worked with many different types of cooperatives from food co-ops and food hubs, to housing, agriculture, artists, and early childhood education. She is committed to increasing awareness of cooperatives and is passionate about the cooperative business model’s ability to empower people and their communities.

During her tenure the organization has grown its educational programming to include a number of events highlighting and promoting cooperatives including the Crossroads Cooperative Summit, the Up & Coming food co-op conference, Cooperatives in Diverse Communities. and housing co-op conferences. Trocha has helped raise the profile of cooperatives in Indiana through her advocacy efforts. ICDC has secured “Co-op week” proclamations from the Governor since 2010 and in 2016 hosted the first “co-op showcase at the statehouse”.

Deb received her MBA from the University of Alabama and a BS in Marketing from the University of West Alabama. In 2005, Governor Joseph Kernan Awarded her the Sagamore of the Wabash.

Christina Ferroli, Grants Program Coordinator

Christina Ferroli, PhD, RDN, FAND, recently retired from Purdue Extension-Marion County after 22 years of service as an Extension Educator. She is an established grant writer successfully funding the signature program Dining with Diabetes, along with Summer Camp Enhancement Program through Summer Youth Program Fund, and The Hungry Planet with Peter Menzel and Faith D’ Allusio through Spirit and Place.

Dr. Ferroli is a food safety expert and has been a ServSafe instructor with the Indiana Restaurant and Lodging Association for 24 years. She also provides consumer food safety tips and is a go-to resource for safe home food preservation.

Dr Ferroli is a graduate of Purdue University, a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetic and a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She enjoys music, reading and developing and trying new recipes. Her most favorite down time activity is travelling, especially, to her native Italy to visit with family and friends.  Her passion for travel, foods and nutrition took her on a People-to-People Nutrition and Health Exchange with China, where she experienced the unique foods, culture and health habits of the Chinese.

Board

Lee Lewellen, President

Lee currently is president of Lewellen Progress Strategies, LLC. From 2013-2023 Lee served as the first President/Chief Executive Officer of the Indiana Economic Development Association (IEDA), the statewide association for Indiana’s economic development professionals.  Lee holds a Master of the Arts in Sociology from Ball State University, awarded in 1982.  He was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Sociology, cum laude, by Ball State University in 1979. Lee is a 1996 Graduate of the Institutes for Organizational Management and a 2022 graduate of the Community Foundations Institute. In 2023, he was named a Sagamore of the Wabash by Governor Eric J. Holcomb.

Jeremy Fetty, Vice President

Jeremy Fetty is an Indianapolis-based attorney whose practice focuses on cooperatives and utility law. Mr. Fetty represents various cooperatives in Indiana including rural electric cooperatives and communication services cooperatives. He is a member of the Electric Cooperative Bar Association and the National Telephone Cooperative Association. He also serves on the legal committee for the NTCA. Mr. Fetty is a member and current Vice President of ICDC Board and has been a member of the ICDC team for 8+ years.

Louis McIntire, Treasurer

Louis McIntire serves as a Vice President of CoBank. He has responsibilities for marketing cash management services, leases and loan commitments totaling over $927 million with 22 farm supply and grain marketing cooperatives and Agribusiness customers in Indiana and Tennessee. Customer service requires analyzing the feasibility of cash flows to service capital requirements, structuring financing proposals, and financial counseling of farm supply and grain marketing cooperatives. In 2019, our team finished in second place with $90 million in new loans and leases versus goal of $40 million. Louis serves on a number of boards and is a frequent speaker at ag related conferences and events.

Karen Madry, Secretary

Karen is the President/CEO of Afena Federal Credit Union (over $70 million in assets) headquartered in Marion, Indiana. Afena FCU is mission-focused on increasing financial inclusion among the most under-served consumers and is a designated Low-Income Credit Union. In 2019, Madry guided the credit union to receive CDFI certification and an accompanying grant, further enhancing its ability to serve those who lack access to financial services.  Since becoming CEO in 2014, Madry has developed programs at the credit union which address financial literacy as well as community assistance and support.  Karen is deeply committed to the local community and currently serves on the IU Kokomo Advisory Board, as well as holding the position of Board Treasurer for the Grant County Chamber
of Commerce.

Ceann Bales serves as the Director of Public Policy and Alliance Initiatives for the Indiana Alliance of YMCAs. She has spent her entire professional career in the not-for-profit sector, serving as the CEO of three not-for-profit organizations: Girls Incorporated of Wayne County, the Randolph County YMCA, and Randolph County United: An Economic, Chamber, and Tourism Partnership. She earned a B.A. from Purdue University, an M.P.A. from Ball State University, and is currently pursuing a PhD in organizational leadership at Indiana Wesleyan University. Her dissertation research focus is rural innovative community and economic development.

Colette Childress serves as the Policy Advisor for Local Government relations for the Indiana Farm Bureau. In this role, she works collaboratively across the state and nation to develop and implement effective advocacy strategies that increase opportunities for Farm Bureau to be seen as a thought leader in rural viability. Childress comes to INFB from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) where she served as the East Central Community Liaison, as well as previously a project manager. At OCRA, she provided economic and community development guidance to national, state, and local elected officials, key leaders and stakeholders and helped award more than $200 million dollars to Indiana Communities.

Kerri Gaumer is the Administrative Assistant at Miami-Cass REMC, an electrical cooperative located in northern Indiana, where she has been employed for three years. In her role, she executes a variety of critical functions, including managing the schedules and calendars for the CEO and Board of Directors, coordinating all board meetings and related events, overseeing employee engagement initiatives, and handling payroll responsibilities. Kerri also facilitates the Student Board of Directors program, which immerses high school juniors and seniors in the principles of cooperative governance and board operations. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University Kokomo and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Business Management with a concentration in Human Resources.

Tanya Hall is a Community Development Regional Educator for Purdue University, who focuses on Community Economics and Workforce Development. Located in the south-central portion of the state, she received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Purdue University’s Agriculture Economics program. Tanya works with communities and organizations to foster vibrant and resilient economies. Programs that she is involved with include: Facilitative Leadership, Community Coaching Learning Circle, Community Leadership Program, Remote Work Certificate, Business Retention and Expansion, Work Ready, FORWARD and many others. She is also involved with several initiatives related to childcare and workforce development.

Kay Neidlinger is the Vice President of Communications for the Indiana Credit Union League, the statewide trade association for Indiana’s credit unions. Credit unions are member-owned, not-for-profit cooperatives that are democratically controlled. In Indiana, credit unions serve more than 2.7 million Hoosiers. Among her responsibilities at the League, Neidlinger is the contact for credit union marketers and communicators, working with them to promote credit unions and their products and services to a variety of audiences. She has held several marketing and communications positions in financial services organizations during her career.

Jeff Pipkin has held the position of economic development manager since June 2020. Prior to joining Hoosier Energy, he was a leader in central Indiana’s economic development industry for nearly 20 years. Serving as executive director of the Hendricks County Economic Development Partnership (HCEDP) from 2017 to 2020, Jeff led a staff of three in attracting new businesses and retaining and growing existing businesses throughout the county. Beginning in 2013, Jeff and his HCEDP colleagues secured $1.1 billion in new investment, 4,950 new jobs, and $207 million in new payroll. Prior to joining HCEDP, Jeff worked for the Mooresville Economic Development Office, then assisted in its transition to the Morgan County Economic Development Corporation in 2003.

Gabriel Piser currently serves as the Director of Community Initiatives for Indiana University’s Center for Rural Engagement. He draws on his interdisciplinary expertise to support a team in developing and executing rurally focused campus-community partnerships related to public health, sustainability, education, housing, rural arts and culture, and more. In addition, he also manages several of his own projects including working with the Indiana Cooperative Development Center, the Greater Indianapolis Multifaith Alliance, and other partners to help jumpstart the creation of permanently affordable, grassroots, resident-led housing initiatives across the state.