Rodriguez’s list of accomplishments is long and vast.
of education makes people better. And if we can make our organization better by doing that, we will do it be- cause it takes an incredibly talented group of people to do what we do.”
To name a mere few, he has served on three Presiden- tial Transition Teams and served three times on the U.S. Transportation Department’s Aviation Consum- er Protection Advisory Committee. His most recent awards, in addition to the 2023 Dynamic Leader of the Year award, include his 2023 induction into the Indiana Aviation Hall of Fame, being listed as one of the Indi- ana Business Journal’s 250 Most Influential Leaders in Indiana, and receiving the Engineering News Record’s Top 25 Newsmaker’s Award. In addition to his leadership on our Board, he also serves on the boards of the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, the Indiana Sports Corporation, and the Indiana Destination Development Corporation Foun- dation. Rodriguez is also the founder of the Hispanic Leadership Council. “The rankings and awards are just a byproduct of having an excellent team and the team having clarity in what they want to accomplish,” Rodriguez told the Indiana Chamber. Similar to Ivy Tech, diversity and inclusion efforts are imperative to Rodriguez. “Inclusion and equity are a moral imperative. Diversity is a business necessity,” Rodriguez told the Indiana Chamber. “If you have one team with the same life experiences, you tend to get social conformity. Alter- natively, if you have a diverse team with different life experiences and thoughts, you have a team that will continue to question the status quo and improve.” Rodriguez says with anything he does, he always asks two questions: “What am I trying to accomplish? What is my why?” And his why for serving on the Ivy Tech board is a simple one, Rodriguez says. “My why is to make the community better. It’s as simple as that.” “Ivy Tech makes our community better each and every day. It’s important to drive our educational system to a greater extent and ensure that they provide more and more as time goes on.” Rodriguez says the partnership Ivy Tech and IAA have is one of the best because it invests in human capital. “Ivy Tech has given us the opportunity to offer IAA employees the ability to better themselves without any barriers,” Rodriguez said. “Our employees can earn a certificate in anything and everything. We need me - chanics. We need technical certificates like electrical and plumbing, yes. But education purely for the sake
“My why is to make the community better. It’s as simple as that. And Ivy Tech makes our community better each and every day.”
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