Robert W. Lazard – Chairperson

Robert W. Lazard a recently retired CPA, had a 42-year career entirely with Crowe directly out of Purdue University’s School of Management. Lazard fulfilled his passion for government and not-for-profit when he became the Crowe’s first managing partner for the Firmwide Public Sector Services in 1990, developing it into a firmwide national business unit with services in Audit, Tax and Consulting. Lazard maintains membership in the AICPA and Indiana CPA Society and has experience with numerous AICPA and INCPAS committees and task force efforts including the AICPA’s Federal Legislative Task Force and the Indiana State Steering Committee. Lazard is a former chairman of the INCPAS Ethics Committee and continues to serve on statewide committees within the Indiana CPA Society. He has served on many professional and non-profit boards and committees throughout his career including two terms on the Indiana State Board of Education, seven years on the National Association of State Boards of Education of which he is a past president and on the Purdue University – Krannert of Business School Alumni Association Board for eight years. Lazard currently serves on the Board of Elders and is Treasurer of his local church congregation, is on the Purdue University – Krannert School of Management Dean’s Advisory Council, is the Treasurer of the Indianapolis Marion County Building Authority Board of Trustees as well as serving on various other entity Boards.

Carl L. Drummer

Carl L. Drummer serves as senior VP and co-chair of Taft’s Public Affairs Strategies Group and lobbies in Indiana and Washington D.C. His major lobbying efforts in Indianapolis include the Citizens Energy Group water purchase, the City’s parking meter deal, the soccer stadium and mass transit, among others. Drummer has been recognized in the Indianapolis Business Journal and The Indianapolis Star as an effective lobbyist. In 1996, he was elected Center Township Trustee of Marion County, Indiana, after the Hon. Julia Carson was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives. He was the youngest African American to hold a political office at that time in Marion County – in either political party. Drummer served as deputy trustee under Carson from 1991-1993. From 1993-1996, he served as the chief deputy constable, Center Township Small Claims Court. Drummer also has more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement. As the Trustee of Center Township, Drummer managed a $12 million budget, and approximately 102 employees. His responsibilities included feeding and providing clothing and shelter for the underserved in Center Township. His concern for the less fortunate keeps him searching for ways to improve the relief system, without increasing tax burdens for the taxpayers of Center Township. His goals and aspirations extend far into the 21st Century and beyond. At the Center Township Trustee’s Office, there were several plans to put the able-bodied men and women, who seek assistance, to work at various locations around Marion County. His motto was always, “I am here in this office to give them a hand up, not a hand out.” He continued a practice that Carson initiated in the early 1990s, a one-stop shop. Not only did Drummer have the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office and Division of Family and Children onsite, he also had a payee program. He credits most of his success to his employees and fellow management personnel.

Thomas Hanify

Thomas Hanify served as a firefighter on the Indianapolis Fire Department for 40 years, retiring in 2021. Tom was President of the Indianapolis Professional Firefighters Local 416 for ten years and since 2002 he has served as President of the Professional Firefighters Union of Indiana. Board membership has included the Indiana Board of Firefighting Standards and the National Fire Protection Association 1710 Committee and he is a Labor Management Alliance facilitator, teaching management and union leadership cooperative best practices. He is a US Army Veteran who first came to Indianapolis in the 1970s to work at the Near Eastside Multiservice center as a community organizer. Tom loves his adopted city of Indianapolis and is a long time resident of the Chatham Arch neighborhood where he runs the Chatham Arch Community Garden.