Congratulations 2020 Distinguished Alumni
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Barbara Austin
Ms. Austin began her professional career in information technology sales and account management. Throughout her career, she focused on achieving the business goals; however, she clearly understood the human element necessary to succeed. This balance produced a team of professionals who were all driven to succeed guided by her leadership. She served in various management roles, ultimately “retiring” in July 2000 as Vice President of Marketing and Human Resources for Bell Industries.
In addition to her daily responsibilities, Ms. Austin was active in the technology industry. She served as President (1993-94) and then Chairman of the Board (1994-95) of the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA). She also led the Apple Dealers Advisory Board as Chairman in 1995.
She served on a variety of industry advisory councils and speaker panels. She presented public policy issues facing the IT industry in Washington, most notably Internet security, privacy, and capacity. She championed industry standards and certifications requirements such as A+ and CNA certifications. She was published in several trade publications. Ms. Austin was named to Computer Reseller News “20 to Watch” in the IT industry. She was also featured in the Indianapolis Business Journal’s “Who’s Who in Information Technology” in 1995.
Currently, as Vice President of Austin Integrated Marketing, Ms. Austin works with small to mid-size clients on the design and implementation of branding, positioning, and marketing strategies. However, her primary focus during the last 16 years has been volunteerism in MSDLT schools and the Lawrence Township School Foundation. She has served in several leadership positions with responsibility for volunteers, logistics, marketing, branding, and client satisfaction. She has directed major fundraisers, raising over $1M, as well as helped to raise the profile of the fundraising event and associated organization. In 2013, Ms. Austin was recognized by Geist Magazine as a Professional Volunteer serving the community.
Ms. Austin is a life-long Lawrence Township resident. She and her husband, Jim, have 2 daughters who are also proud Lawrence Central graduates.
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Andrey Horton, DDS
Dr. Andrey Horton is an Indianapolis native. He attended Skiles Test Elementary, Belzer Middle School, and graduated in 1992 from Lawrence Central High School. He was active in numerous activities, including being the concertmaster and principal violinist in the orchestra. He was one of the founders of the first minority-focused organizations of LC, called SUPER, which stood for Students Understanding Perseverance Excellence and Rights. He was elected the 1992 Senior Class President by his peers.
Dr. Horton graduated and matriculated to Indiana University where he was a pre-dental major. Years before and while playing baseball for Belzer, Dr. Horton was in an accident that required several trips to the dentist. This motivated him to pursue dentistry. He was active on campus at IU, enrolling as a Diversity Advocate for Wilkie Hall. He would later pledge Kappa Alpha Psi in the fall of ‘93 where he served as senior vice president. After scoring high on the DAT (dental aptitude test) and completing his pre-dental curriculum and course work at IU, he graduated with his bachelor’s degree in general studies math and science, with a minor in African American studies.
Dr. Horton was accepted to Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry, Nashville, Tennessee,and enrolled in the fall of ‘96. Dr. Horton excelled at Meharry and was chosen to represent his school at the American Dental Association’s yearly convention for the student research symposium. He obtained his first publication, “The Bacteriostatic Effects of Tooth Paste,” in the Ewell Neil Dental Society Journal and in the 1998 Hinman Student Research Symposium Journal. He would also have the opportunity to present his research to the research executives at the Colgate corporate headquarters in Piscataway, New Jersey. Dr. Horton received the highest score in his class on the National Board Part II, and was president of the Student National Dental Association. He Graduated with his Doctor of Dental Surgery Degree in May of 2000 and was matched for his residency back here in Indianapolis. Dr. Horton was the first African American to complete a General Practice Residency at the Roudebush Virginia,hospital in 2001. He associated for several years before he would own his first practice in Broad Ripple in 2003. He would buy another practice, Check Ups Dental, in June of 2007.
He has been a past President of the Indianapolis National Dental Association. He has active memberships in the Indiana Dental Association, the Indianapolis District Dental Society, the American Orthodontic Society, and the American Dental Association
Dr. Horton was recently published in fall 2019 edition of Journal of the American Orthodontic Society on biomechanics and treatment considerations on excessively protrusive patients.
He is married to his beautiful wife Beverly and has three beautiful children,
Bryce 20, Phoenix 8, and Braxton 4.
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Steve Sterrett
Stephen E. Sterrett retired in December of 2014 as the Chief Financial Officer of Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, Inc. Simon is an S&P 100 company and, at that time, was the largest real estate company in the world. Mr. Sterrett joined Simon in 1988, was named Treasurer in 1993, and was Chief Financial Officer from 2000 to 2014. Prior to joining Simon he was a senior manager with the international accounting firm of PriceWaterhouse.
Mr. Sterrett was named as the number one ranked Chief Financial Officer in the real estate industry for the eight years consecutively from 2007 to 2014 by Institutional Investor Magazine. In 2012, he was inducted into the Academy of Fellows by the Kelley School of Business of Indiana University and in 2013 received the Jeffrey Fisher Real Estate Legacy Award from Indiana University.
Mr. Sterrett is a native of Indianapolis and isa 1973 graduate of Lawrence Central High School, where he was a three sport varsity athlete. He holds a B.S. degree in Accounting (1977) and an M.B.A. in Finance (1983), both from Indiana University.
He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Berry Global, a Fortune 500 Company and a member of the Board of Trustees of Equity Residential, an S&P 500 company. He formerly served as a Board member of Realty Income Corporation.
He is active in several civic and charitable organizations, including currently serving as a Trustee of Butler University. He is also the current President of the Indiana Golf Association, and serves on its board and the board of the Indiana Golf Foundation. He also serves on the board of the Indiana University Center for Real Estate Studies and the Kelley School of Business Dean’s Council. Additionally, Mr. Sterrett is on the Board of Trustees for Tindley Accelerated Schools, a charter school network based in Indianapolis.
Mr. Sterrett is also the current owner of Old Oakland Golf Club in Indianapolis, Indiana, which he purchased in 2016. Mr. Sterrett is also an investor in several small businesses in Central Indiana.
He is a former board member of the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, Simon Youth Foundation, Indianapolis Downtown Inc., Crossroads of America Council, Boy Scouts of America, Christian Theological Seminary, Goodwill Industries, Catholic Youth Organization, Geist Christian Church, Lawrence Township Schools Foundation, Training Inc. and of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Indiana. In 2015, Steve and his wife Betty received the Living and Giving Award for their efforts to help fight juvenile diabetes.
Steve is a native of Indianapolis and he and his wife Betty currently reside in Indianapolis and in Scottsdale, Arizona. They have two adult children, Kim (Spencer) Seaitz and Jeff (Jamie), and two grandsons (Avery and Aiden Seaitz).
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Mark D. Ayers, MD
Dr. Mark Ayers attended Lawrence Township schools from 1st - 12th grade. After graduating from Lawrence North in 2000, he attended Wabash College where he received his Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy with a minor in Biology. He then spent 4 years at Indiana University School of Medicine, graduating with his MD in 2008.
He spent the next 7 years training in pediatric medicine, pediatric cardiology, and finally pediatric electrophysiology, which is a branch of cardiology that deals specifically with heart rhythm disorders. Dr. Ayers finished three years of pediatric training at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg, Florida. He then trained for three years in pediatric cardiology at IU/Riley Hospital for Children before spending one year at Vanderbilt University for sub-specialization in pediatric electrophysiology.
Dr. Ayers now works at Riley Hospital for Children as a pediatric cardiologist and electrophysiologist. He considers himself fortunate to work with some of the same doctors who saved his life as a child when he underwent three open-heart surgeries, all performed at Riley Hospital for Children! Dr. Ayers is proud to be author and/or co-author of several peer-reviewed scientific publications and to have had the opportunity to present research at several international conferences.
Dr. Ayers is married to Meghann Ayers (Lindmar), also a Lawrence North graduate. Together they have two very active children, Hudson and Celia and spend most of their free time with them at their various sporting events, practices, and extracurricular activities.
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Arun Murali
Arun Murali is the Chief Executive Officer of Revele, formerly GroupOne Health Source. In December of 2007, he helped complete the merger between GroupOne Health Source and Pradot Technologies, a company he co-founded in 1999. Mr. Murali has guided and grown the delivery of the company’s healthcare back-office solutions amidst a rapidly changing healthcare market. In 2011, he was appointed CEO. Under his leadership Revele has been named to the Inc. 5000 list from 2015 to 2017, the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. Previously, Mr. Murali served as Deputy Director of the Business Services Division for the Indiana Secretary of State from 1997-1999.
Mr. Murali received a B.A. in Business and from Indiana University Bloomington, an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University, and a Master of Jurisprudence degree from the McKinney School of Law at Indiana University. In addition to his role as CEO of Revele, he is serving as President of the Board of Directors for the Lawrence Township School Foundation, and as a Board Member for the Ronald McDonald House of Central Indiana. He was the Assistant Head Coach for Indianapolis North Central High School’s Men's Tennis Team from 2000-2007, which won 2 Team and 2 Doubles State Titles during his tenure. He has been a member of the Vistage Leadership Network, the world’s largest and most comprehensive executive coaching organization, since 2011. In 2018, he was nominated by his peers for the Vistage Leadership Award for ongoing achievement in leadership.
Congratulations to the 2020 Lawrence Central and Lawrence North High Schools honored alumni. Click on each name to read bio.
The MSD of Lawrence Township is accepting nominations for Distinguished Alumni from Lawrence Central and Lawrence North High Schools. With this award, we recognize those outstanding alumni who have displayed extraordinary gifts of leadership, achieved recognition for their professional expertise, attained success in their field of endeavor, and provided service to their community and/or LT Schools.
Each fall, a committee representing the MSDLT and LT School Foundation submits to the superintendent recommendations for selection. Those selected are then confirmed by the Board of Education. In early April, the newly selected honorees are invited to address the top seniors of the current graduating class at the annual Top 30 Banquet. Once an applicant is submitted he/she remains on the list, so there is no need to submit again.