The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership has announced Michael Galbraith as the director of the Road to One Million.
In this new role, Galbraith will oversee the Road to One Million plan and support the Northeast Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA). His responsibilities include serving as the primary point of contact for the RDA, Road to One Million project management, regional collaboration with stakeholders and contractor management. The five-member RDA Board is responsible for disbursement of the $42 million in funding granted to the region through the Regional Cities Initiative established last year.
The purpose of the Regional Cities Initiative funding is to attract and retain talent by providing financial support for game-changing quality of place projects that will increase economic growth, lead to population growth, and enhance the region’s national brand identity. Northeast Indiana won the Regional Cities grant last year with its Road to One Million Plan that outlines more than 70 projects and $1.5 billion in investment over the next 10 years.
“Michael is a great addition to the team of the Regional Partnership because of his leadership supporting and managing board relations and interfacing with state and local government officials,” said John Sampson, president and CEO of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership. “Michael also brings a wealth of leadership in grant administration and community development, which will have an immediate positive impact on our efforts to attract businesses and talent to the region.”
Since 2006, Galbraith has worked with ARCH, Inc., Fort Wayne’s nonprofit historic architecture preservation group. From 2011 to 2016, he served as the executive director. Through his work with ARCH, he authored and published comprehensive studies that cover the historic architecture of Steuben County, LaGrange County, Wells County and Adams County for the State of Indiana.
In addition to numerous National Register of Historic Places nominations, he is the co-author of the National Historic Landmark nomination for the Chief Richardville House and a study of the Amish of Northeast Indiana. He is also active in the community, serving on the boards of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Quest Club, Wildwood Park neighborhood, Indiana Landmarks’ Indiana Modern committee and also plays the French horn in the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.
Michael is listed as a Qualified Professional by the Indiana Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, and holds a Master’s of Science in Historic Preservation from Ball State University, Masters of Music in French horn from Indiana University, Bachelors of Arts in History and Bachelors of Music in French horn from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
"I’m incredibly humbled and honored to have been chosen as the Director of the Road to One Million. This plan presents such an enormous opportunity for Northeast Indiana to improve our quality of place and how we’re perceived as a region. I look forward to working with the Regional Partnership team and the RDA Board," said Michael Galbraith, director of the Road to One Million.
“As we focus on attracting and retaining talent in Northeast Indiana, there is no better time to have Michael join Regional Partnership to lead this tenacious effort," said RDA board chairman Jeff Turner, senior vice president of Metal Technologies. “The Road to One Million is critical to increasing our regional population and building a bigger and bolder region. With Michael’s commitment, along with his experience in leveraging resources, building consensus among various stakeholders, and managing capital projects, we are prepared to get the job done right.”
To learn more about the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, visit our website at www.neindiana.com/about-us.
