Lillian Barkes
B.S. '19

Lillian Barkes is a dedicated educator who has served as an elementary teacher, tutor for afterschool learners and leader in the community. Lillian is an advocate for education and currently supports students through her leadership as the co-founder and CEO of Listen to Our Future.

Listen to Our Future is a grassroots, non-profit organization, that provides students with tools needed to succeed academically and in life. The organization uses research-based curricula to help boost students' confidence and improve their academic performance.

Lillian’s life work supports the School of Education mission and values and demonstrates advocacy and service.

Dr. Patricia Payne
B.S. ED 62, M.S. ED ’75 and Honorary PhD ’90

Dr. Patricia (Pat) Payne has a longstanding commitment to education. She was an exemplary teacher for 25 years, with over 62 years of service and leadership in Indianapolis Public Schools.

Dr. Payne currently directs the Indianapolis Public Schools Office of Racial Equity and Inclusion and the Crispus Attucks Museum.

Dr. Payne’s life work supports the School of Education mission and values, she gives back through educational advocacy, mentorship, service on the Dean’s Advisory Council and through her endowed fund the Patricia Payne Scholarship for Teacher Candidates.

Erin Cassity
M.S. in Education, 1994

Erin Cassity is a proud alumna of the IU School of Education in Indianapolis.  She earned her Master of Science degree in Education in 1994. Erin was an employee of the University for 43 years. As Director of the Curriculum Resource Center, she worked passionately with SoE student organizations - Kappa Delta Pi and Education Student Advisory Council. Over the years, Erin interacted with thousands of students, educators and alumni, providing them with inspiration, academic support and classroom materials for their lesson plans.  

Erin joyfully led and participated in School and campus wide initiatives. She organized SoE student teams for Regatta from 2013-2018, 2021 and 2022, and served as SoE Scholarship Committee Co-chair circa 2009-2015. Erin helped hundreds of students obtain funds to complete their college education.  Erin consistently supported students with her time, ability, and financial resources. 

In 2015, Erin Cassity along with her colleague and friend Jackie Whitney established the Cassity Whitney Classroom Startup Legacy scholarship. The scholarship was envisioned to help graduating seniors in the School of Education with classroom start-up expenses; to help them create a culturally diverse and welcoming classroom reflecting their own teaching philosophies. Thanks to Erin and Jackie, the scholarship does what it was envisioned to do, additionally it creates a perpetual reminder of the School’s and IU Indianapolis' support for alumni endeavors.   

Erin Cassity has been a great supporter of the IU School of Education in Indianapolis and has represented the School well throughout her career. Erin retired as the Career Consultant with the School of Education in 2022. 

Martha Johanson
M.S. Counseling / Counselor Education, 1995

Martha Johanson is an alumnus of the IU School of Education in Indianapolis.  She earned her Master of Science degree- Counseling/Counselor Education in 1995. Throughout her career, Martha has been a passionate disability and mental health consultant, working hard to develop the potential of the disabled and underserved. As a teacher, counselor, administrator and community leader, her understanding of this population's needs, practical focus, flexibility, energy, and empathy- have all been keys to her success. 

Martha has been a true professional throughout her career of teaching, educational administration, counseling, and disability consulting- always willing to spend the one-on-one time to have discussion with a colleague, students or client in need. She also spends considerable time and effort to thoroughly research the topics which she presents to professionals, parents and persons with disabilities. 

As a lifelong learner and pursuer of self-improvement, Martha constantly pursues new ways to strengthen her mission for those with special needs. The deeper knowledge and innovative techniques that she gained through her graduate work at IU Indianapolis and the graduate degree in Rehabilitation Counseling that she received from University of Kentucky in May 2019 have given her a solid foundation and confidence to fulfill her mission to bring hope, self-worth and better lives for those with disabilities. She is not the student that keeps knowledge to herself or simply shares it with academic colleagues, but one who uses it to brighten the day of those who may be losing hope. 

Finally, Martha effectively balances her role as a mother of a special needs child with the energy needed to serve the greater disabilities communities. 

Erika Radford
Skiles Test Elementary School - Principal
Urban Principalship Program, 2012

Erika Radford has called Lawrence Township home for the past fifteen years. She has earned her undergraduate degree in elementary education with a reading endorsement from Ball State University in 2001. She began her career as a fourth grade teacher at Harrison Hill Elementary School in Lawrence Township. She taught first and second grade and co-taught in a multiage setting. Ms. Radford became a certified reading recovery teacher and was an instructional coach with an emphasis on Inquiry Based Learning. Her administrative career began in 2011 as she became the Assistant Principal at Skiles Test STEM Elementary School.

Under her leadership, Skiles Test was confirmed to be a STEM Certified School by the State of Indiana. The school received a grant from Roche and the American Heart Association after creating a teaching garden and serving students over 1,250 pounds of freshly grown produce from a student tended garden. Ms. Radford completed her graduate work through the Urban Principalship Program at IU Indianapolis in 2012. She is a member of the Indiana Association of School Principals and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

She served as Principal at Skiles Test Elementary School for 7 years and is continuing her professional development at SPARK Learning Lab.

Natalie Stewart
Harrison Hill Elementary School - Principal
Urban Principalship Program, 2012

A passionate educator who has spent her career in education serving Lawrence Township. Natalie Stewart completed her bachelor’s degree in elementary education at IU Indianapolis. She began at Harrison Hill Elementary School and has nine years of classroom experience, teaching first, second and third grade. After leaving the classroom, Ms. Stewart studied the Project Approach/Project Based Learning and became an instructional coach for five years. In that role, she worked with students and teachers at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

Ms. Stewart completed the Urban Principalship Master’s Program at IU Indianapolis. She then began her career in administration at Sunnyside Elementary as an Assistant Principal. The following year Ms. Stewart returned to Harrison Hill Elementary School, as Principal and has continued into her fourth year.

In 2014 Harrison Hill was granted a Student Success Grant from the United Way for $436,000. This grant, now in its second year, has transformed the school into a community school with wrap around services, after school, evening and summer programming for students. The school currently has a B rating from the Indiana Department of Education.

Jake Allen
Urban Principalship Program, 1999

Jake Allen currently serves as principal of Paul Hadley Middle School. After a brief professional career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he completed the Transition to Teaching program in 2003 and began teaching in the Mooresville Schools system then completed the Urban Principalship Program at IU Indianapolis in 2009.

As principal, Jake and his staff have implemented a classroom framework that maximizes instruction, keeps a clear focus on state standards, and places the learning and assessment of all students at the forefront of instructional practice.

Paul Hadley is the first school in the district to implement a 1:1 laptop program—providing a large number of students with their first access to a computer in their home environment. The administration team and all staff members have worked together diligently to foster a safe school environment and a culture of high expectations.

Ann Mennonno
B.S. in Elementary Education, 1999

Ann Mennonno has been an educator for fifteen years. She is a member of many professional organizations including the National Council of Teachers of English, Hoosier Association of Science Teachers, and Indiana Teachers of Writing. Ann has presented at district, state, national, and international conferences in the areas of language arts and science. She is a district and state level science lead teacher. Ann serves as the president of the Hearts in Education Teacher Outreach program which takes groups of teachers to Honduras where they work in rural schools in the country.

Ann traveled to China in summer of 2013 as a part of the First Elementary International Conference. Two Chinese schools, one in Beijing and the other in Cheng Du, replicated her classroom in their buildings. Ann was able to model inquiry-based teaching and the integration of subject areas.

She has been named the Indianapolis Public School Teacher of the Year two times—in 2004 and 2013 and received the Hubbard Life-Changing Teacher award in 2015.